


Amber Morris - Novastorm - Daughter of Krypton

by Kivrinjs



Category: DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27667006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kivrinjs/pseuds/Kivrinjs
Summary: Superman died in 1982.  A rogue scientist from Krypton decided to create a new Krypton on Earth.  He crafted a retrovirus to take over a host human female and genetically engineer her to be the mother to new Krypton.  This the story of the girl who was infected, her new life, the struggles of her new life, and new powers.  How she learned to accept what she has become.  This an alternate history/world for the DC universe.  Bruce Wayne is an old man.  Clark had an adopted sister who had a daughter.  Will add new Chapter Every Thursday.(March 2, 2021)





	1. Part 1 - The Crystal

**Author's Note:**

> Warning - There is death, loss and suicide attempts in this story.

I looked up at the sun and my two sisters kneeling beside me. They had been through so much. The had lost their father, and their mother and now me. I wouldn’t change anything if I could. Loss and the pain that followed gives way to new love, and new memories. I touched their cheeks one last time. The blood pooling in my lungs made it impossible to speak now. I could tell they knew what I was saying. I also knew they would be alright because I had brought the real hero back to the world. Kal-El would make sure they were safe. But I’m starting at the end, we should go back to the beginning.

My story isn’t a happy one, I’m not some golden age superhero. My life was full of love, loss and betrayal. I’m going to apologize ahead of time. I have a photographic memory so sometimes I get a bit lost in them. I have made many mistakes, I have hurt people I loved, and I have so, so, many regrets. I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll start with the fact my name is not Amber Morris. Or Novastorm. Its Kristen Laurence.

I changed my name when I was thirteen. It was not by choice; It was by necessity. I wanted to leave my old life behind. Not that it was a terrible life. I was surrounded by love. Parents, family, friends. Eric, my next-door neighbor. If there was a person, I could say I loved outside my family it was him. I never saw his face; You see I was legally blind. But I remember his voice. I remember all their voices. And their screams. I wish I could forget as easily as I was able to change my name and become the new me, but that will never happen because my photographic memory will not let me forget. I remember the screams, the searing flames burning up my skin, my guide dog frantically trying to save me, then his whimpers and last scream before the darkness. One little rock. One little rock changed my life and destroyed so many people I love. One tiny, insignificant, little rock. I can still feel it in my hand the smooth edges told me it was a cut crystal of some kind. I could feel it humming and vibrating. Then the fire. I’m getting ahead of myself, lets go back to the real beginning.

My parents, bless them, had me when they were in their late forties. I was a blessing to them, the doctors told them I would be disabled due to some genetic error, but my parents were catholic, devout and would never considering terminating a pregnancy. Sometimes I wish they had, so that they could have adopted a normal girl. One that was not a burden, one whose genetic anomalies wouldn’t drag them down, and eventually kill them. At first they were told I would not survive to term, then I was born, then they were told I would not survive past my first year, and then they said, three years, then five years, then ten years, yet I survived, somehow, dragging my parents down with me, expenses, lost time at work, just lost freedom.

My parents weren’t wealthy, my father worked in a factory, my mother was a teacher. My mother quit her job to care for me. I couldn’t tell you what they looked like, my eyes could never make out more than blurry colors. They were good people. But they were poor people because they spent so much money just keeping me alive, and mobile. I never felt like a burden, I never realized I was, I was a child, all that mattered was I had a mother and father who loved me. Now that I can see the world for what it is I know the truth.

I did not have many friends. I was wheelchair bound. My hands were twisted but usable. My support dog, Muffy, she was a pillar in my life, always present, always keeping me safe. And my friend Eric, who lived next door, oh how I miss his voice. He was my age, now that I can see, I looked up pictures of him. He looked just as kind as he sounded. I am not sure why he hung out with me so much, I couldn’t play video games, or chase. I couldn’t see the movies we’d sit through together, but we would sit through them. We would tell stories, wonderful, brilliant stories. He’d even read to me. Eric, unlike most kids our age, he loved books.

I had one hobby, it wasn’t much of one to be honest. I loved to collect stones, rocks and crystals of various shapes sizes and textures. I loved the feel of them in my hands. They brought me a lot of joy. _I wish I had never started_. The reason I point this out isn’t me trying to show off, but because it is what started the chain of events that led to the existence of Novastorm and Amber Morris.

Through the years I was poked and prodded by doctors, they didn’t really have a diagnosis for what was wrong with me specifically. My DNA was deeply flawed. My parents as poor as they were used what little money they could get together to try and get some form of treatment for me to extend my life. These various treatments were attempts at gene therapy. I expected no miracles, and received none, only a curse.

My mother took me to the doctors for my last treatment on my thirteenth birthday. She was so upset that she was ruining my big day. I wasn’t the kind of twelve, or thirteen-year-old kid to complain. Doctors visits were part of my life. Whether it was a check-up, or an emergency room visit because my lungs were filling up with fluid. I wish I knew where she took me that day, but they did some tests, and injected me with a concoction that would apparently fix some imbalance I had with some of my cells that stopped the uptake of some protein. I can’t recall the exact words, even with my photographic memory because to be honest, I wasn’t listening. I was thinking of the rest of my day, my birthday party and cake. And a present that my uncle promised me was very special. 

When we arrived at home I felt exhausted and my mother put me in my bed. I woke when she shook me to tell me people were starting to arrive for my party. _I wish I had never woken up from that dark, dreamless sleep_. My mother helped me into my wheel chair and we went out into the apartment proper. I could smell and hear several of my extended family. I had three uncles, two aunts, my grand parents were dead. Several of my cousins were there as well. My family didn’t do anything small when it came to parties. This was a big one, the girl who shouldn’t have been born is now a teenager. I loved my family a great deal.

My Uncle Keith, who was permanently single for some reason loved to spoil us kids. I guess because he didn’t have any kids of his own. He always got the best presents for us, the rarest rocks in my case. Eric gave me a memory stick with him reading my favorite poem. I had several new rocks and crystals for my collection and then it was Uncle Keith’s turn. He had gone with the smooth gift wrap. I pulled it apart and then he opened the box for me. He said it was a very special stone, from a meteor, most of the meteor’s crystal had been green, but this was one was clear. Very rare. It was from a town called Smallville.

I didn’t hesitate I felt around the box for it, I was very excited. I couldn’t wait to touch this rock from outer space. _I should have left it in the box_. But I didn’t. I lifted it out. It was very dense. And felt like someone had cut it, it was smooth, had faces. I wasn’t expecting that, usually the rocks and crystals I was given were natural and raw. I felt the facets. It was unlike anything I had touched before, at once it was cold, and hot. At first I was amazed, then I got scared, I could feel it sticking to my skin in places. And while I could only make out blurs it flashed so brightly it blinded me. Then it started to burn. I screamed, tried to throw it away, I couldn’t. My uncle Keith started apologizing and trying to pull it out of my hand I heard him say ouch. I could hear his skin sizzling. Then it flashed again, and that is when the screams came.

I couldn’t tell you what happened next. I can only tell you I didn’t expect to wake up.


	2. Part 2: Awakening

The last thing I remembered was burning up from the inside out. I had been burned once when I touched a hot frying pan, it felt like that only it was over my entire body. Now I felt no pain. It was a unique feeling for me because up until then my entire existence had been pain. Crippling physical pain. It hurt to breath before, but now there was no pain, no struggle as my half-formed lungs tried to breath for a full body of blood. I could feel my chest rising and falling in a very calm rhythm. No gurgling and popping as I tried to breathe through the ever-present liquid in my lungs. One might think that opening my eyes would be the first thing I would do, but I was blind. So, I kept them closed and I listened. I could hear a girl laughing. The murmur of conversations in the distance. As my body began to respond to my wakefulness, I could feel a tube in my mouth. I began to panic and opened my eyes. I had never seen more than a dull blur before. When my eyes opened, I was assaulted by defined shapes and all manner of color. I closed them again, I must have screamed. I kept my eyes shut tightly. It was too much. Someone held me down and I could feel them pulling something out of my throat. They were talking, but I did not hear their words. My heart was throbbing and all I could focus on was the pounding in my ears. The world was spinning even inside my head. I think the best description is vertigo. I blacked out.

When I woke again, I heard the distinct sound of a page being turned in a book. I had heard it many times when Eric would read his beloved stories to me. I resisted the urge to open my eyes. I cannot describe what being able to see for the first time was like. My mind scrambled to put names to objects. Maybe the wires weren’t finished yet. I would have to open them eventually, even before when I was legally blind, I could still see well enough not to run into things. Hearing what a window looks like then seeing one, are completely different experiences. I knew names for things, and I could guess what I was looking at, but I could never be sure unless I had corroborating evidence. Instead of risking my sanity by opening right that moment, I kept them closed and listened again. It was quieter now; I could hear the city outside. Sirens in the distance. I could hear someone breathing near me, and then I heard another turn of a page.

I felt an odd sensation. My feet. I assumed it was my feet, as they seemed to be at the bottom of my body. I had never felt my feet before, as I realized I could feel my toes brushing against the sheet above them, my foot jerked. It was strange to have limbs I had never had before, I had them, but they were vestigial and had I couldn’t feel them or use them. I gasped when my foot jerked and I heard something hit the floor. It was a plastic bottle with some liquid in it, I heard water bottles make the same sound. Then I heard her voice and could smell her perfume. She sounded tired.

“Can you hear me?”

I kept my eyes closed. I did not want to black out again. When I spoke my voice surprised me, it sounded different, perhaps from not being used, it sounded louder, and raspier than before.

“Yes.”

I coughed, not the cough I was used to. My usual cough was accompanied by gurgling, this was just from a dryness in my throat, and some lingering pain.

“Let me get you some water.”

I heard her re-enter the room and heard a plastic cup being put on a hard surface.

“Can you open your eyes?”

“The light hurts them.”

I heard a nearby click.

“It is safe to open your eyes. The lights are off.”

I opened my eyes and while I could make out shapes in the darkness it wasn’t so disorienting as last time. I blinked a few times and saw a cup with water in it sitting on tray across my bed. I had never seen one before but it was the only thing with a liquid in it. I picked it up and took a long drink. When I put it down I looked at my hand. It was not how I remember it feeling. Before it had been twisted even with my almost total blindness I had been able to see the twisted, and stubby fingers that barely worked. This hand was not mine. It was smooth and pale with long slender fingers. I felt a rising panic. I closed my eyes again quickly and took another drink of the water. I heard motion again, I had been so absorbed in my hand I had forgotten there was someone in the room with me. I opened my eyes and avoided looking at my body it was too alien for me to process at the time. I looked at the woman. I couldn’t make out much more then a silhouette in the darkened room. I saw her lean closer, her voice was softer than before.

“Is that better?”

“Yes, ma’am, it is.”

“Ma’am? That’s a new one. I’m not that old.”

“I can’t really see you, ma’am.”

“My name is Kat. I’m a nurse here. Do you remember your name?”

I was about to respond but then I stopped. I remembered the screams of my family dying around me and thought I might get in trouble. I did something I had never done before. I lied.

“No, sorry ma’am.”

“That’s okay, it will come back hon. You were in a pretty bad accident. I’m happy you can talk and that you’re awake. We can work on the rest later, call me Kat, okay?”

“Okay, Kat. Could I… could I ask: where am I?”

“You’re at the Precious Angels Home for kids in Metropolis.”

“How did I get here?”

“Oh, you poor dear. There was an accident, you were found in the remains of the building. They put you on life support, they determined you were in a permanent vegetative state and withdrew life support. You lived. You’re a little miracle.”

I could feel myself frowning. A little miracle who murdered her whole family and her best friend.

“So, no one knows who I am?”

“No, I’m afraid not, they had it all over the media, but no one came forward. Maybe your family was in the building and…well maybe they can’t come forward.”

I could feel the guilt rising up from the pit of my stomach. I could feel tears dripping down my cheeks. My hands began to shake and I dropped the water. I started to sob. I didn’t want to, but I had done it, I killed my family and everyone in that building. Kat wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight. I sobbed into her chest for a long time. And she sat there on the bed hugging me tightly stroking my hair.

“Shh, its okay, you’re safe and cared for hon. We’ll get you through this.”

I tried to say something, but I was sobbing too much. By the time I had calmed down Kat had replaced my water and cleaned up the spill. She came back in and she was holding something in her hands.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

She put something down in front of me and unwrapped it.

“It’s not much, just left-over ham sandwich from lunch. Just take it slow. You haven’t eaten solid food in a long time.”

I reached out and picked up the sandwich. It was cold to the touch. I was still shocked at how well my and worked. There was no joint pain in my knuckles or fingers. I took a bite of the sandwich. It wasn’t great but it felt good to chew. The whole time Kat hovered nearby. Once I swallowed the first bite she picked up her book off her chair and sat down. It didn’t take me long to finish the sandwich. It was amazing what a pair of working hands and perfect vision made possible. With my old hands eating a sandwich would have been an hour-long affair as I shakingly tried to get it to my mouth. I could tell she was smiling, even in the darkness. My eyes were growing accustomed and I could start to make out details, if not colors. Her hair was dark and was in a ponytail. I had no point of comparison for age without feeling someone’s face but she looked smooth, so she was younger then my mother.

“Kat, how long have I been here?”

“You’ve been here for about five months. You were in the hospital for about a month before you were transferred.”

“Did…did I look different when I got here?”

“No, why?”

“I umm, I uh, I feel wrong, like I’m in the wrong body.”

“That is completely normal after coming out of a long-term coma. Give yourself some time.”

I didn’t think it was normal to suddenly have working eyes, arms, hands, legs and feet. She was being honest at least, there is no way you could mistake old me for new me. I could feel the urge to pee coming on. I had rarely done it normally usually there was a catheter, and I had no idea how to get from where I was to a toilet. I squirmed a bit and Kat must have noticed.

“Are you okay?”

“I think…I think I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh, let me help you to the toilet.”

She pushed the tray out of the way and helped me up. She was strong for her size and practically had to carry me. I had working feet and legs but I had never actually walked before she didn’t seem to mind and helped me to the toilet and sat me down on it.

“I’ll be outside just let me know when you’re done hon.”

She left the bathroom and closed the door. I was alone. I did what I had to do and steadily pulled myself to my feet leaning on the bathroom vanity. My legs wobbled under me. I expected them to be weak but they supported me fine. I almost cheered. I had always wanted to know what it felt like to stand up. I was lost in the joy of feeling the cold floor on the balls of my feet, I wiggled my toes. I looked up and I saw myself for the first time.

The night light in the bathroom cast a soft glow, but it was enough to make out my features. My hair was unkempt and blonde. It was very long, past my waist. My eyes were a turquoise blue. I had no scale to measure my looks by. I had never seen the details of another human face besides Kat’s. My nose was perky and my skin had no blemishes. It wasn’t my face looking back at me. I knew that much, my hair had been kept short and was brown, my eyes had been hazel. I could only go by what I had been told, but this wasn’t my face. I was interrupted when Kat called out.

“Are you alright in there, hon?” 

“Yes, but I could use some help, please.”

Kat opened the door and I heard her gasp. 

“What are you doing, you could have fallen and hurt yourself. Let me help you.”

She swooped under my arm and I started my tentative attempts to walk. I watched her legs move and tried to mimic her. It was comical watching me to do that, and even I started to giggle. Kat tried her best not too, but it was too much, and she dissolved into her own giggles. She helped me lay down again. We both giggled ourselves out of breath and Kat looked at me and spoke very kindly.

“Its okay hon, your muscles have atrophied, and it will take time for them to learn to be used again.”

“Thank you, Kat.”

“That’s what I’m here for. I do need to do some rounds and check on some others. There is a button right there on that string. If you press it, one of us will be by shortly afterwards. Try and get some actual sleep, please.”

I nodded. Kat scooped up her book and left the room, but she didn’t close the door. Left alone I looked out the window and could see what I assumed were stars. Words hadn’t done them justice. I felt my eyes growing heavy and I didn’t fight the urge to sleep.


	3. Part 3: A symbol of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber finds out who Superman was and wears the symbol for the first time.

When I woke the next morning, it was to light streaming into my window. I could feel it warming my skin. It took me a few minutes to realize where I was, my room looked different in the daylight. There were pictures on the wall, hand drawn in color. I couldn’t have told you what any of them were of, the only one I could identify was a sketch of me in bed. It was a very good likeness of what I saw in the mirror last night. I had this sudden fear in the pit of my stomach that I had been dreaming. I wiggled my toe. It took me a few minutes to realize I was seeing more than a blur. I laughed softly at the silliness of my panic attack and continued to look around the room. It was small and besides a chair and my bed and the meal tray there was not much here. I could hear kids laughing. It was a calming sound. 

I lifted my hands and looked at them in the light. They were just as flawless as they had been last night. I closed my fists and then wiggled my fingers. Life without the burden of physical pain was a new experience. You cannot imagine what it is like to be in constant lifelong pain then suddenly have it gone. I have never found a comparison, but for me to feel actual physical pain these days takes a great deal of effort on someone’s part.

I was staring at my hands when I heard a knock on my door. It was another woman, she looked wrinkly. She was as old as my mom. She had a name tag. I couldn’t read it at the time, I had never seen words or letters before. Now I can tell you it said Dr Samatha Bunch. She smiled at me.

“May I come in?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Oh, you’re very polite, maybe you can teach this unruly lot a thing or two. I’m Dr. Bunch, I’m a pediatrician. I just need to check on you, make sure everything is working, then we can maybe get you some breakfast. And see about a wheelchair. Sitting in a room all day staring at a wall has never done anyone any good. Can you sit up please and take a deep breath?”

She put her stethoscope on my back and my chest and listened. She looked in my mouth, my ears, and my eyes. I had gone through this before, but I had never seen it. She then poked my feet and legs here and there asking if I could feel it. She then tested my reflexes which worked perfectly. That had never happened before either. When she finished, she sat down in the chair Kat had left beside my bed.

“Well, you’re physically fine. I’m surprised how much muscle you still have. You’re lucky. I’d usually expect months of physical therapy before we could even consider rehabilitation but based on what I’m seeing you can start as soon as you feel comfortable. Heart’s good, your lungs are clear. You have all your feeling in all your limbs and your vision is good. You’re extremely healthy for someone who just woke up from a six-month coma and who was buried under a building for a few days. Nurse Kat told me that you can’t remember your name or who you are.”

I didn’t like my chances of being a convincing liar, so I just nodded in response.

“We should consider some tests and see if we can see an abnormality with your brain. We don’t know if you had any oxygen deprivation that may have caused some damage to your memory.”

I nodded. I understood most of what she said, I had listened to a lot of medical dramas, and audio books. At least my amnesia was believable. She smiled at me and leaned on the railing on my hospital style bed.

“We’ll have to give you a name, we can’t just go around calling you hey you.”

“Do you have any ideas?”

“I do not, but it seems like April named you Amber in her picture.”

The doctor pointed the sketch of me on the wall.

“Amber sounds good to me.”

“I’m sure April will be excited to hear that. You’re the only two girls your age here. She’s very eager to meet you. As are all the kids. You’re quite popular. Most of the little girls think you’re sleeping beauty or Rapunzel because of your hair. You have fan club.”

I smiled and nodded. I’m sure I was blushing too.

“Dr Bunch, how…umm old am I?”

“We are guessing, twelve or thirteen. Hopefully you’ll remember soon, hmm?”

“I hope so.”

“Well, let’s just look at the bright side, you’re awake, you’re healthy and you’re somewhere safe.”

I just nodded in response.

“I’ll let the nurses know you can have breakfast. When you feel up to it I encourage you to go socialize. It’ll help you feel better.”

I nodded again. A male orderly brought breakfast. I didn’t recognize any of the food but once I started eating I could name it all. It wasn’t great food, it wasn’t my mothers. I could hear the children laughing and playing. By the time I had finished my breakfast my wheelchair had arrived. It wasn’t like my old one. It wasn’t motorized, I could make it work, now since my hands weren’t twisted stubby things, a fact that still amazed me at that point. It took some effort but I was able to get into the chair myself. It seemed my upper body strength wasn’t suffering from my long coma. I practiced moving the wheels with my hands and eventually managed to make my way to my window. I looked through it. The corners were frosted. The sun was hidden by clouds by now and I could see snow falling. I could see cars moving below. I was several floors up. I saw a tree covered in lights, they sparkled even during the day. I heard a knock at the door and looked up it, it was the male orderly who had brought my chair and breakfast. I got a better look at him this time, he was also young, dark hair, and dusky skin. He smiled when he saw me looking at him.

“I came to help you into your chair and here you are, already in it and looking out the window. You want me to take you to the playroom? No lessons today, its Saturday.”

“Yes please.”

“My name is Richard.”

“I guess we decided my name would be Amber.”

“It’s a good name.”

“I suppose it is better than the one I had, which was hey you.”

Richard took the handles of my chair and began to push me through the halls. The place looked like what I’d describe as a cross between a hospital, a school and a house. 

“I don’t know about that, Hey you has a nice ring to it. Imagine your teacher having to call you Hey you, and the whole class and turns to look because they think she’s talking to them.”

I laughed at that; It was a funny picture. I still found it hard to be happy. I had lost everything, no, I had destroyed everything I loved. He noticed my mood and made tisking sounds.

“No frowns in here missy. We are all smiles.”

He leaned close and spoke more quietly.

“There are a lot of other really sick kids here, and a smile from you will really help. I know you’re having a hard time, but maybe if you make them feel better, you’ll feel better.”

I wiped away the forming tears and nodded and tried my best to smile. He finally wheeled me into the so-called playroom. There were a lot of kids and they were playing with various toys and chasing each other around. There were a few adults as well keeping the peace but for the most part the kids were just let to run free. A few of the younger girls noticed her. They rushed over. Richard held up his hands.

“Careful girls she’s just getting used to be out of her room.”

“Sleeping beauty, you’re awake! Did Richard kiss you? Is he a prince?”

She was a little blonde girl, but when I looked closer, I realized she was wearing a wig. I smiled at her. I glanced back up at Richard who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but right there. I looked back at her and smiled again.

“No, I’m afraid there was no prince. I wish there was. But could you imagine him seeing me like this?”

The girl giggled.

“What’s your name?”

“Sam!”

One of her companions shook her head and crossed her arms.

“No, it’s not, it’s Samantha.”

“I want to be Sam!”

“Sam’s a boys name, why do you want to be named after a boy?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well as someone who doesn’t have a name, I think Sam is a perfectly good one.”

“You don’t have a name?”

“No, I don’t, I can’t remember it.”

They three girls cried out in unison, very adorably.

“Oh no!”

“But I picked a new one now, its Amber.”

“That’s what April said your name was!”

“Well I saw her picture of me and decided it was a good name.”

One of the girls ran off and started trying to push another wheelchair bound girl towards me. The girl in the chair did look my age. Her hair was dark. She had a sketch pad in her lap. She was dressed in black and I could tell she didn’t want to be here. She tried to stop the girl from pushing her chair and then she saw me. She then started pushing herself towards me. She had make up on and had made herself up to look very pale. When she stopped in front of my chair she smiled.

“Oh my god you’re awake.”

I smiled to her as well.

“Hi.”

“I’m April, I hope you don’t mind, I used to read to you, they said it would help.”

“I’m sure it did.”

“So uh, how are you?”

“I’m good, can’t remember who I am, but otherwise doing great.”

“Oh, wow.”

“I decided to call myself Amber.”

“Hi Amber.”

She paused for a moment and I guess she realized what I had said. She smiled broadly. 

“I said you looked like an Amber.”

“I saw your picture of me. Why did you pick Amber?”

“It’s from a book series. The main character’s sister was named Amber, she was tall and had long blonde hair.”

“I suppose that is as good a reason as any.”

She moved her wheelchair closer and adjusted her sketch pad. The younger girls had gotten bored and ran off.

“I’m so glad you’re awake. I’m the oldest one here and I was starting to go a bit crazy.”

“We do seem a bit older than the rest.”

“There were a few that were older but…well they are gone.”

“So this isn’t an orphanage.”

“Oh no, this is a hospice and long-term care place for kids.”

“So, they are really sick?”

I felt my heart sink. 

“Most of them have cancer, they get the chemo and radiation therapy here, we’re all wards of the state.”

“I don’t mean to pry but…are you?”

“No, no, I’m just here while I recover. Not many foster homes are equipped for physio and rehab. We’re the lucky ones.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Seven months, I wasn’t really wanting to try at the start. I didn’t see the point. I guess it will be a while before you get to go to rehab.”

I shook my head.

“Dr. Bunch said I could start when I felt ready.”

“Already? You were in a coma for so long. When are you going to start?”

“Tomorrow if I can. I feel like I’ve never walked before so I should get to it.”

Her eyes went a bit wide.

“Tomorrow?”

“If I can, how long have you been going?”

“I…uh, I really haven’t wanted to.”

“Why not?”

April shrugged.

“I donno.”

“Well I’m sure we can do it together and laugh at each other as we zombie shuffle. Zombies do shuffle right?”

April laughed, it sounded like music to my ears. I caught a nurse looking at me out of the corner of my eye. She was smiling. I looked back at April who was still smiling, she finally was able to talk.

“Yes, zombies shuffle. I wonder if they’ll let us dress up.”

“I’d be happy for anything but this whatever this is, it’s not very warm, or comfortable.”

“I’m sure they’ll find you something. I’d lend you some of mine, but you’re like a giant compared to little old me.”

“I will be alright. So…what books did you read me?”

“It was my favorite series, The Godling Chronicles.”

“That’s the one about the vampires isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is, do you remember me reading them.”

At that point I swore in my mind, Eric had read the first book to me. 

“I must, I don’t know why I know that.”

“Well I’ll let you borrow them, they’re kind of worn, I’ve read them like a million times. I wish I was Enid, thousands of years old and not caring what anyone thinks, and oh ya being able to heal from bullets like it’s a funny bone injury.”

“Sounds like a good life, but I mean vampires can’t go in the sun so, I mean, that’s a drawback right?”

“Oh, no, well yes, but Enid she has this amulet that she has molded around her heart…ah, never mind you’ll find out when you read the books.”

“I…don’t know how to read, I don’t think.”

I could read, just not with vision. I had learned braille from a young age. It was hard with my twisted hands as they were, but I desperately wanted to read my own books instead of having to listen to them.

“Really?”

“I see letters and words I guess but I couldn’t tell you what they say.”

“Well, I can help, but we really should tell the instructors tomorrow. I’m sure you know how, its just a bit messed up in your head.”

“I guess. So, what do people in wheel chairs do for fun around here?”

“We race in the halls while the nurses try to chase us down.”

“Hmm, I’m not so good at steering yet, that sounds dangerous.”

“Pfft, It sounds fun.”

We heard someone speak behind us, I recognized it as Kat’s voice

“That is a one-way trip to wheelchairs being taken away.”

April smiled; I couldn’t help but smile too. Kat had been my welcome into a new world.

“Hi Kat!”

“Hello April, I see you’re trying to corrupt our newest arrival.”

“Hey, she’s been here almost as long as me.”

“She was in a coma, so it doesn’t count.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing good, I decided my name should be Amber.”

“Good name, I’m sure it has nothing to do with April naming you that.”

I smiled as I responded.

“No, has nothing to do with that.”

“Well April, I’m going to steal Amber for a few minutes, I brought her some clothes we’re going to get her changed before lunch.”

April waved to me as Kat rolled me out and towards my room.

“I’m glad to see you out and about so soon Amber.”

“I heard the kids laughing, I wanted to get involved, I was lonely.”

“They’re going to be decorating for Christmas this afternoon. Maybe you can supervise.”

“It’s Christmas?”

“Yes, its November 27, Thanksgiving was on Thursday so it’s officially Christmas time.”

“Wow, that is exciting, I love Christmas.”

She finished pushing me into my room and looked me up and down.

“Are you starting to remember things?”

“No, not really, just I got super excited when you said it was officially Christmas time, so I must love Christmas right?”

“Sounds logical. Now I’m sorry the clothes aren’t much, and I think the shirts are boys shirts, but its all I could find on short notice from the donations that would fit you. I washed them up and they should fit. Do you want some help getting into them?”

“Yes please.”

With some difficulty the pair us managed to get me dressed, another new experience I’d never put my own shirt on before. I pulled the shirt over my head and looked down at it. It was black with a silver stylized silver S on it. I honestly had no idea what it represented at the time. I had no idea who Superman was. It was a bit big on me, which is why I still own it today. I had no idea how appropriate it was. It was old, and a bit faded, as were the jeans which I could tell were girls jeans by the feel of them. She looked me up and down once I was dressed.

“Looking good, after lunch and before Christmas decorating, we’ll get you washed up and do something with your hair. It looks like you’ve been sleeping in it for months.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her when she said that.

“Thanks for the clothes Kat, it feels good to not be in that nightgown.”

“Of course, it does. Sorry the shirt is so old, but honestly everything was for smaller kids.”

“I don’t mind, I like it, the symbol is neat.”

“It’s Superman’s symbol.”

“Who is that?”

“You really have lost your memory, haven’t you?”

“He was a Superhero in the seventies and eighties. He died. Lord knows how old that shirt is.”

“What happened?”

“There was a big fight here in Metropolis in and he died defending us. It was before I was born but I’ve been to his memorial lots of times.”

“No, I don’t remember.”

I really didn’t, I’d never heard of Superman. I had heard about superheroes and villains. Metahumans. It sounded to fantastical to be true. But I guess I’m proof it is true.

“Well it’s not important, we haven’t seen another like him, I doubt we will. I mean there are those metahumans but who knows if they are even real right?”

“I am not sure what you’re talking about.”

“That’s okay, lets get you to lunch then we’ll get you a bath and then Christmas decorating okay?”

I nodded and she wheeled me out to lunch.


	4. Part 4:  Friends and Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber deals with the ramifications of being self-centered and meets her new family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a suicide attempt in this chapter.

I couldn’t believe how good it felt to have clean hair, and to just be clean. Kat and I discussed my hair while I was having my bath and decided I should cut it as soon as possible so it wouldn’t get in the way. We thought just past my shoulders would look good. Christmas decorating had been a lot of fun. I had done it with my parents so many times but I had never seen the lights or how the ornaments sparkled. The kids really enjoyed it too. I had slept well that night and had my first rehab session scheduled for the next afternoon. April and I had spent the whole afternoon and evening together. She seemed loathe to leave me. I think she was afraid I wouldn’t wake up and she’d be left alone again.

I rolled over to the window in my wheelchair and looked down. The roads were busy that day I could see cars moving back and forth and people walking on the sidewalk. Part of me wished I was down there, experiencing all of it. Another part of me was worried I was dangerous, after the explosion that killed my family. Richard knocked on my door.

“Good morning Amber, time to get you to lessons, Oh, you’re dressed. Good job. How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling good, Richard. Very good.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

He took the handles of my wheelchair and pushed me towards the classroom. I had been to schools when before the accident. But as everything this was a brand-new experience; I could see the classroom and my fellow students. It seems like this was the nine and above class. There were three instructors, it seems one was specifically for me. She took me through several books trying to see if I understood anything, of course I could not. I noticed a boy touching the pages of what appeared to be a blank book, at least from where I was sitting. I thought that must be braille. I pointed at the book he was reading.

“Mrs. Arya, could I try one of those books?”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt; We’ve tried everything else.”

I closed my eyes and I read a few lines from book. My fingers were way more sensitive. I only needed the lightest of touches. When I opened my eyes, she looked a bit shocked.

“You understand braille? Amazing. We can work with that. I don’t have anything right now, but tomorrow I will bring a book with English letters and words with braille you can use that to learn.”

“There are books like that?”

“Of course, sighted people learn braille too. Look at you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Arya.”

“We can use this for math too, numbers. Oh, thank goodness, you had me worried.”

“In the meantime, you read that book and I’ll get you another. Just to make sure you keep in practice.”

April was on the opposite side of the room, she kept glancing at me. I could tell she was worried about me, I smiled at her to let her know I was fine. She looked a bit nervous as well. When we finished class and lunch and were wheeling our way to the Rehab room she stopped about ten feet from the door.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea, maybe its too soon, I mean your legs are probably still weak.”

“My legs are fine April, and so are yours.”

“I don’t think this is the right day for it, I mean its just after thanksgiving.”

“Well I’m not going to miss my rehab. You can wait out here if you want.”

I started wheeling towards the room and I could hear her rushing to catch up.

“I thought it wasn’t the right day for it?”

“I still think it’s the wrong day, but if you start before me, you’ll leave before I can and then I’ll be stuck here alone again.”

“If you’re not ready, you’re not ready.”

She got a determined look on her face and pushed past me into the room. I smiled at her back. Glad I could give her the nudge she needed.

“I’m ready.”

I rolled in after her. The rehabilitation trainer was a real giant. He was way taller than me. He was dark skinned, and he had massive muscles. He smiled when we came in. A woman came out from an office. She was younger looking but also very fit.

“Hi, I’m Geoff, and that is Karen. We are going to be helping you learn how to walk again. I hope you’re both ready to work hard.”

I nodded; April kept looking over her shoulder at the door we had entered. I poked her arm gently.

“You can do this.”

She nodded.

Geoff looked at his tablet and then to me. 

“Amber, you’ll be working with me today.”

Karen rolled April away from me and started helping her exercise her legs. Geoff rolled me towards the other side of the gym and kneeled so we could talk.

“Now Amber, I see here you just woke up from a coma, are you sure you’re up to this?”

“I think I am, I was able to stand on my own, twice, well I mean I was using the bathroom sink, but I was strong enough I just, couldn’t make them work how I wanted.”

I motioned at my legs.

“Well the doctor has signed off, I just don’t want to rush this, you could set yourself back.”

“No, I have to try, I don’t want April to see me leave.”

“She’ll understand.”

“No, I just think, she wouldn’t try if I wasn’t here. I kind of pushed her into coming today. She was scared.”

“Well okay, but if anything hurts you tell me right away.”

I nodded and he reached down and helped me up. There were two bars in parallel and he held me up and I put my hands on them.

“Now Amber, I’m going to hold you the whole time here, just put one foot in front of the other.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Watch me. You got those bars? Are you okay?”

I nodded and then he went to the other side of the bars and slid his socked foot along the ground and inched forward while holding onto the bars.

“Just like that, just slide your foot forward.”

He moved around beside me and I could feel his strong hands around my waist.

“Now just slide one foot forward, that’s it, then the other. Looking good Amber, looking good.”

The whole session was an hour, I was exhausted by the end of it. This new body I found myself in was not light and the last fifteen minutes he had me shuffling on my own without him holding me. Funny if someone were to say Nova Storm couldn’t hold up her own body weight it would be laughable. I threw myself into rehab. I tried to go every day, but I wasn’t allowed. I wanted to walk on my own. Having legs that worked, it was a miracle. When I wasn’t in rehab I was retraining myself to read with my eyes. April tried to keep up, but unlike her, I wasn’t recovering from an injury, I was just learning to use my perfectly functional legs. I didn’t realize how much I was hurting her with my drive to walk. I had been so much trauma that I couldn’t talk about because then everyone would know I was lying, that I couldn’t see outside my own situation. 

I was young, and trauma is a strange beast. I didn’t understand the trauma April was feeling. She had always been able to walk and now she struggled with it. Her body just wouldn’t do what she wanted it to do. I spent time with her, but I didn’t see her struggles. The days turned into weeks and by Christmas day I was walking with a walker. I had decided to do a cross-stich of April’s favorite novel character, Enid. I even spelled her name out at the bottom. It was quite challenging, but it had helped me learn how to use my hands better. Its not like I had the money or ability to go out shopping. I even wrapped it myself. I shuffled to her room on Christmas morning. 

I could see blood seeping out from under the door to her bathroom. I started slamming the door with my shoulder and crying for help. It was my first encounter with my newly forming super strength. I managed to burst the door open but soon found myself on the floor with no support my face in April’s blood. I wish I had known; I wish I had looked harder. I just didn’t understand. I could see she was still breathing as I laid there. I called for help again. Christmas day wasn’t what I had expected that year. When April came back, I asked if we could be roommates.

The first day was rough, it was New Years eve. I didn’t know how to talk to her. I didn’t know what to say. I was terrible at social interactions. A lifetime of being blind had left me with a distinct inability to read people’s body language. I was trying to learn. I could see frowns and smiles now and realize what those meant, but it wasn’t instinctive. It never has been easy for me. New Years was always special for my family. It meant another year that I should have died in, I was alive, so it was big celebration. It made me miss my family more. I couldn’t share that with April. We had never discussed her family, or why she was a ward of the state, or even how ended up in a wheelchair to begin with. I glanced over at her from my bed, she was rolled over on her side. Staring at the wall, away from me. I couldn’t really get a read on what was going on in her head. I know now she was angry to be in a room with me. She thought they didn’t trust her and had put me there to watch and make sure she didn’t try again. It was a strain on our budding friendship. As was my complete inability to understand what she was going through. Which was very similar to my own trauma.

She was cold to me throughout the whole day she didn’t speak to anyone. She refused to go for breakfast, lunch or supper. Uncharacteristic for her, she loved food in a way I would never understand. She just lay there staring at the wall. I did my best to not prod her too much. I wanted to fix everything. But even now, with all this power, there are some things I cannot make right. I heard the crowd roaring outside, looks like it was officially twenty-twenty-three. Another year and I was still alive. I laid in bed tears dripping onto my pillow. April must have heard my quiet sobs and rolled herself over and looked at me. Her eyes and nose were just as red as mine. I was shocked that she even bothered to ask.

“Are you okay Amber?”

“No, I’m not okay.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I have a feeling this was a special day for my family. And now I’m alone.”

“It was a special day for my family too.”

“Why was it special for your family?”

“It was my mother’s birthday.”

I sniffled a bit and wiped my tears off my face with my sleeve. 

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“I, I am not sure.”

“You don’t have to, I just… well you can talk to me.”

“You don’t remember anything I don’t want to fill your head with horror stories.”

“It’s okay I can handle it, I promise. It might help. I feel like I’m to blame for whatever happened and I can’t really explain it to anyone. Just saying that out loud makes me feel a little better.

“You couldn’t have blown up a whole building. Not like me, this was my fault.”

“I don’t think it was.”

“We were at the restaurant for my birthday. A man came in and started shooting. My mom did her best to cover me up. My father tried to save my brother; It didn’t help. It was in Gotham.”

She was starting to cry. I did my best to slide across the floor and climb into her bed. I managed after a few minutes. I hugged her the way Kat had hugged me on the first night after I woke up. It was awkward I wasn’t used to being so physically close to anyone. She sobbed into my chest and we hugged each other for a long time. I was crying myself. Just as much for my loss as for hers. When she’d calmed down a bit she continued.

“I was shot in the back and I couldn’t feel anything below my waist. A hospital here in Metropolis said they could do surgery and they might be able to fix the damage, for free. I was sent to the hospital here, and then I was brought here to recover and learn to walk again. Its so hard. I just wish I had never asked to go to that restaurant for my birthday, but it was my favorite.”

“You didn’t know what would happen, you couldn’t know. You just wanted to have a birthday party with your family.”

She started to sob again, and I found myself rubbing her back like my mother used to when I was in pain. We fell asleep like that. Both of us crying. It was the first moment of true friendship between us, before we had been acquaintances but through our joint trauma we had bonded.

When I woke up the next morning it was still dark out. I was stiff and super warm. She was still snoring. It was difficult to extricate myself and get to my own bed with my still limited mobility. I pulled my blanket on and went back to sleep. I woke up to April poking my nose gently.

“You’re going to miss breakfast sleepy head.”

I struggled to wakefulness and then laughed. She was already dressed. When I had pulled off my nightgown and strapped my training bra on, she looked, out of sorts with red cheeks. She was staring at me and I didn’t know why. I pulled my superman shirt on which was quickly becoming my favorite shirt. It was still so baggy it hid my newly developing parts that I was not exactly comfortable with yet.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no.”

“I’m sorry, you just, your cheeks are all red and you look, I don’t know like your not comfortable.”

“I’m embarrassed about last night. Then I saw the…blood stains on your jeans. I realized you found me there, like that.”

“Don’t be embarrassed, I’m glad I found you, if I hadn’t you wouldn’t be here.”

“Kat…Kat told me you broke open the door yourself. I saw the bruise. Does it hurt?”

She pointed and I looked down at my now shirt covered arm and shoulder.

“I barely noticed it, I have this feeling I’m used to being in pain.”

“I can’t believe you just changed right there like that.”

“Why? Am I not supposed to?”

“No, well, yes, I don’t know, it’s just I usually like some privacy when I’m getting dressed.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll make sure to change in the bathroom from now on.”

“It’s alright, you didn’t upset me, I just noticed the bruise. I’m sorry I stared. I know you’re feeling a bit awkward about this.”

She pointed to her own chest, she was more developed then I was by this time. I really hadn’t considered I would develop like this. My genetic disorder had interfered with puberty but it would seem I was getting hit by it with full force now. In the last month I’d had to replace my one bra twice.

“Does it hurt?”

“It’s uncomfortable sometimes. But I wouldn’t say it hurts.”

“My chest ached when it first started. I remember being in tears some days.”

“I don’t think I feel pain like everyone else, I mean, like my pain scale is different. You know when they ask you is it a one or a three or a nine? I’m always at one.”

She was in her wheelchair and I pushed myself up and leaned on my walker and we made our way to breakfast.

“That’s probably why you’re getting so much better at walking then I am, I’m in so much pain after the rehab sessions.”

“I’m usually tired, but not in pain. My arms used to get shaky near the end, but I’m doing better now.”

“You really are.”

“I have no basis for comparison, but I think my legs are fine and so is my body, I just seem to need to learn how to use it again. You aren’t in the same place; You were injured and maybe it’s still making connections. But you are getting better too. I bet by the end of January you’ll be using a walker too.”

“You look like an old lady with that thing.”

“Maybe when you get one, we can have old lady races.”

April laughed. It was a sound I hadn’t heard often lately and it was music to my ears. I missed my family and I missed Eric but it was like I was building a new family with her. We sat at the same table, well I sat and she wheeled in and I noticed when I looked around that Sam wasn’t there. Neither were her two friends. I looked back at April, it didn’t seem she had noticed. I didn’t say anything about it, but I would soon find out, Sam had passed away the night before. Cancer sucks.

Kat was the one who told me about Sam, I asked her about it when April was at her counseling session. She had died in her sleep just after midnight. I was starting to realize April had be right, we were the lucky ones. Yes, we had lost our families, but the other kids there, the ones with terminal illnesses, they maybe never had one, or had been abandoned. They never walk out of the facility alive. Not like we would eventually. Who would mourn for them? Only the nurses, doctors and staff of Precious Angels. I had learned quickly after the first child died, that children didn’t die at Precious Angels, they were adopted by God and were happy with their new family. I know it was stupid and religious but it helped the other children deal with the loss. I had faced my death for my entire life. I was comfortable with the fact that one day I would just cease to exist, but it didn’t do me any favors growing up. My parents weren’t exactly open about my real condition, but children know. I knew. I didn’t say anything about how it made me feel for their sakes, but I had some dark nights of the soul. Children shouldn’t be faced with their own mortality. I had cried a few tears into Kat’s shoulder. She had comforted me. My emotions were all over the place, I couldn’t have said it then, but now I can say it was like being on an out of control rollercoaster. Hormones are a not easy when you’re a teenage girl going through puberty.

I had been right, by Mid- January April was walking with a walker. We did have a few old lady races. Until she fell and hurt her knee. I don’t think either of us regretted it. The director of the hospice was not amused by our antics. She was an older lady and she thought we were little terrors. The pair us could barely contain our snickers and giggles as she lectured us on proper decorum befitting young ladies and how we were an example to the younger kids. The younger kids loved our races and cheered us on. I’m fairly sure the nurses knew we were doing it but turned a blind eye for as long as they could. By the end of February there were a few new kids. Sam’s two friends had been adopted by God as the winter turned to Spring. By May both April and I were walking without assistance. I was reading at a grade level far above my apparent age. Before, I would have been considered to have a learning disability. My brain wasn’t formed correctly due to my genetic condition. I had gotten by with my weird photographic memory but I hadn’t been able to make connections. I could tell you that two times two was equal to four, but it was because I memorized it, not because I made the connection that you could separate things into two groups of two. It was a strange feeling for me to know that the old me was actually mentally challenged. Old me wouldn’t have realized it but new me could see it clearly. It made it easier and easier to think of Kristen Laurence as an old friend who had died, and for me to become Amber.

There had been more searching for my family as time wore on, but I knew I had no one, they had all died in the explosion. I hadn’t had the strength of will to look up what had been reported online. I actively avoided news of the outside. I didn’t want to confuse myself. They decided that the day I woke up would be my Birthday and that I was twelve years old. I didn’t correct them. Any deviation from my story and I couldn’t imagine the trouble I would get in. So I just kept my mouth shut. It was easier than actively lying and trying to get my true age listed. April had already turned thirteen last month. The pair of us were healthy enough that we no longer needed to be at Precious Angels. April wasn’t in pain and we were both walking, running now. It was time for us to move on.

Kat resisted her bosses as long as she could, struggling to find April and I a placement together. She even tried a DNA test on us to see if she could find family. At time I was shocked to hear I had family nearby. I had assumed everyone from my extended family had died, and those that hadn’t didn’t know I existed. But it wasn’t my family. You see my DNA came up as a match for a missing person named, Clark Kent. He had a sister living in Smallville. I had never heard of him before, so I was completely confused. And you likely are too at this point. Don’t worry, we’ll get to that. I was his granddaughter. Or so the test showed. Kat was excited. I was confused and April grew morbid. It, kind of dashed our chances at being placed in a foster home or care home together. April was happy for me of course but we had built a new family between us. Like we were sisters. Kat reached out to my “family”. She and I looked nothing alike. This didn’t surprise me since I know I had no family in Smallville. 

My aunt was much older than Kat. She wasn’t made, up or dressed particularly stylishly. She was quite plain looking with dark hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She looked like she spent a lot of time outdoors. I wouldn’t call her unkind looking at first appearances, but she did look very serious. I was taller than her already. She wasn’t a tall woman, but she had some weight to her.

“So, this is my Brother Clark’s granddaughter?”

She looked me up and down. Having seen her at livestock auctions I can tell you she was looking at me like she looked at a head of cattle. She had this way about her. Very matter of fact. She looked at Kat and was very serious when she asked her next question.

“Are you feeding these girls here?” 

Kat was a bit stunned it seemed but after a few blinks she nodded and said yes.

“Couldn’t tell from looking at her, she’s skin and bones.”

She looked at me again.

“What’s your name?”

“I don’t really remember, but I picked Amber.”

“Sounds kind of fluffy to me. Couldn’t pick something sensible like Jane, Mary, or Sarah?”

“It was the first one we came up with, ma’am.”

“Well you seem well-mannered enough. You know how to address your elders. You can call me Aunt Edna. If you ever call me Great Aunt Edna I will tan your hide.”

“Understood Ma’am.”

“I won’t be taking you in myself, I’m getting on in years. I’m too old to spend my days chasing after pre-teen girls. My daughter Emma, she’ll be looking after you.”

She looked at Kat again.

“We’ll get the lawyers to start filing paperwork. Is she okay here while it is sorted out?”

“Of course, Ms. Kent.”

“You take good care of her.”

Edna Kent wasn’t an openly emotional type of individual; So, I did not suspect she would respond well to my next request. I don’t know why I decided to press my luck. I had to try. She was turning to leave.

“Ma’am, I have a friend, she’s like a sister to me, I wouldn’t…be ready to leave if it wasn’t for her, does your family have a place for her?”

She stopped and turned back to me.

“We Kent’s like to support our community, but we can’t be taking every stray that knocks on our door, we’re just farmers. I’m sorry girl.”

I nodded. She wasn’t wrong. I know now how much it cost them to take me in now. I was obviously disappointed and worried about what would happen to April. We talked long into the night after Edna’s visit.

“I asked if they could take you in, but she said they couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

April had been crying, I couldn’t blame her. I was crying off and on too. I was about to end up with a family that wasn’t mine and I knew nothing about. Kat had gone on about how Smallville would be good for me, how a family would be able to support me emotionally. I hadn’t really paid attention I was too distraught to hear her words.

“It’s okay, I understand. I must be scary for you. You don’t remember anything about them, do you?”

“No, I don’t know anything about them. I think they’re farmers through. At least my Aunt Edna is.”

“Was she scary?”

“No, but she wasn’t friendly either, you know I’m terrible at reading people.”

“Oh boy do I know it. You couldn’t tell someone was angry with you if they were punching you in the face.”

She laughed, I giggled too, it wasn’t far from the truth. We had a fun night just talking about random things. We only had another week together, it was bittersweet. She gave me her email address and asked me to send her an email when I could. She was being placed in a group home in Metropolis, she promised she’d respond, I promised I’d email her. I knew what it was by now, but I couldn’t tell you how to do it. I would figure it out though if it meant I could stay connected to April. We got one last hug before I had to go downstairs with my meager donated belongings and one of Kat’s old gym bags. Kat was off on the day Edna came to get me and I regretted I never got to say goodbye. She had made the new me, and I couldn’t thank her. Edna was in a mood, I wasn’t aware it was her normal mood when she had to come to Metropolis.

“Is that it girl?”

  
She looked at my tiny gym bag, the old Superman t-shirt and jeans with a few faded bloodstains in them that I wore. I nodded.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Poor thing. That shirt looks like it was pulled out of a dumpster. And those pants, are those blood stains?”

“Yes ma’am, its blood. My friend had an accident and I fell in the blood.”

“Lord above. I had no idea things were so dire in Metropolis that they couldn’t give an orphan girl a decent set of clothes.”

She opened the door to her truck. It was brown and had a roll bar with fog lights on it. Not the truck of a sixty something year old woman. It was old. Probably almost as old as her. I miss that old pick-up truck. I used to drive it every chance I got. There was just something about the rumble of the diesel engine that was satisfying. I tried to pull my seat belt on but it wouldn’t budge. Edna gave a chuckle.

“That thing hasn’t worked since before I was old enough to drive this thing.”

I laughed; It must have sounded nervous.

“No need to be nervous, girl, I’m a good driver. Your cousin is looking forward to meeting you. She keeps asking her mom and dad for a sister.”

“Is your daughter really okay with me living there?”

“Of course, she is, you’re family.”

“I just, don’t want to be a burden.”

“I’m sure you’ll help out around the farm and help earn your keep. Emma is a busy sort. She’s a lawyer, so mostly you’ll be seeing my son-in-law, Henry. He’s a good sort, if a bit soft around the edges. Don’t worry you’ll fit in.”

“I am not sure. I don’t really know who I am supposed to be.”

“Just be the best person you can be. The rest will follow.”

Edna had a way about her, as rough as she was around the edges even with my completely untrained senses, I could tell there was something good about her. I always appreciated that she was completely and unabashedly honest. If you are being an idiot, she’d tell you. She pulled into a long driveway. An old wooden sign hung over the driveway stating, _Kent Farm_. Edna parked her truck beside a much newer blue one. She pulled herself out and motioned for me to follow. I walked after her. The house was a beautiful yellow and I saw a big red barn, and cows grazing in a field. 

“Come on girl, let’s get some lunch in us.”

She was waving at me from the covered porch. I picked up my pace, carrying my old gym bag slung over my shoulder. She waved me inside, and the most wonderful scent hit my nose. There was another older lady in the kitchen, she was wearing a dress and an apron. Her silver hair was pulled up in a bun. She was the taller of the two. The woman was hovering near a basket full of biscuits. Edna walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around the thinner woman’s waist and kissed her on the cheek. She tried to sneak a biscuit and the woman slapped her hand.

“Wash first!”

Enda laughed and washed her hands. The other woman spun around spatula in hand and looked me up and down. She looked very kindly. Lots of laugh lines. 

“I thought you were bringing home a girl, not a boy in sack a cloth.”

“I’m sure she cleans up nice Heather.”

Heather shook her head. And seemed to be waiting for something. I looked between them confused. Heather quirked an eyebrow and looked at Edna, then back at me.

“Well wash up for lunch.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled at my response and went back to putting lunch on plates and moving them to the kitchen table. I washed my hands and sat down in the chair Heather pointed at. After five months of hospital food what was already on the table was beautiful to my newly working eyes. She had fried up some potatoes, ham and beans and baked fresh biscuits. Heather pulled off her plaid jacket and hung it up and wash her own hands before sitting down. Heather washed hers as well and sat down between Edna and myself. She started dishing out food. I had paused, I was used to saying grace, both at home and at Precious Angels, it was a Catholic organization. I said grace out of habit and crossed myself and started pulling food out. They looked at each other as I finished. They seemed to have this whole language between them. A look here, a smile there. A frown. I have never seen two people more in tune with each other. We ate in silence for several minutes. To be honest I didn’t want to take the time to talk, the food was so good. Like my mothers. I had missed home cooking. Edna laughed.

“See I told you they were starving her at that place.”

I felt my cheeks blushing. I hadn’t really been eating neatly. I was more stuffing. I was starving. I was always starving. My body seemed to constantly need food. Kat said it was just because I was a growing girl and needed it. April never ate as much as I did, and unlike me she didn’t care about the fact it was terrible food. I finished my mouthful.

“I’m sorry ma’am.”

Heather smiled; Her smile was so kindly. I felt so much love in this house. It was hard to not smile as well.

“Don’t be sorry Amber, eat up, it is what its there for. Growing girls need lots of food.”

“They didn’t starve us, at Precious Angels, the food, well it just wasn’t very good. I mean it was food, but I mean, its not like this. And I appreciated what they gave us, I know they are a charity.”

Heather wiped her hands on her apron and picked up another biscuit, she took a bite and after she swallowed it she looked at me, with those kindly green eyes of hers. 

“It’s good you appreciate the fact they did they best they could for you. Takes a mature child to realize that it’s not all about them.”

By the time lunch was done I was stuffed so full I thought I would burst. Not only did she make fresh biscuits she had baked an apple pie. I can honestly say I had never had apple pie until that day, and it made a quick trip to the top of my list. As I was eating my second piece Heather was chatting with Edna.

“Pie is the last of the apples from last years harvest. You think the orchid is going to do well this year?”

“Looks like it’s a good season for apples.”

I blushed a bit and started to slow down on the pie and Heather seemed to pick up on my embarrassment.

“You keep eating dear. I was just letting Edna know she might have to pick some up when she’s in Metropolis next time.”

I nodded, but still ate the pie more slowly. I finished and stood up and started putting my dishes together and moving them to the sink. It was habit. At Precious Angels we were expected to clean up our dishes. I stood there trying to figure out where to put them, they had a dirty dishes tray at the hospice, but here, I was at a loss. Heather noticed and pointed out the dishwasher. I put my dishes down and spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to open it. Embarrassing when I think of it now. Heather somehow appeared next to me and showed me how to open it. I felt my cheeks burn and she just gave me her usual kindly smile and showed me how to load it. I went back and got the rest of the dishes and loaded it. Heather started putting the food away and Edna had vanished somewhere. I looked around and Heather touched my arm and pointed out to the barn.

“She’s in the barn probably trying to get that beast of an old tractor going. We’re going to start planting next week.”

I looked back at the table, it still had a few dishes on it, but Heather shook her head and motioned that I could leave.

“Go on, I can tell you want to go see the barn. Tell Edna the children are getting here at six and I want her showered and dressed presentably before they get here. Won’t you dear?”

“Yes ma’am.”

I was very curious about the barn. I knew they existed, but I’d never been inside one. Well I had when we did this petting zoo thing at my old school back when I was blind and wheelchair bound. I ran across the wide driveway to the barn. I still loved to run at that point. It was a new feeling to be free, wind on my face. When I got to the big doors I saw Edna on her back with a tool and could see a black fluid coming out of the bottom of the tractor. She noticed me hovering at the door and I could hear her laughing. 

“You can come in, it’s just a barn.”

I walked inside. I was almost tip-toeing afraid I’d break something. Bales of hay were stacked along one side. I could see a few horse pens, empty, probably because they were in the fields. In a back corner I saw something covered in a tarp. I peaked under the corner of it. It was saw a dusty fender. It was black, the paint under the dust still shined. It was up on blocks. I wasn’t sure about cars. Based on the ones I would see driving around outside my window at the hospice I’d have to say this one was old. 

“That old thing, used to belong to Dad. Put it up on blocks after he died. Always meant to get it back on the road. Engines got some issues.”

I pulled the tarp back further encouraged that she hadn’t gotten mad at my snooping. It was beautiful. I would soon get to know it much better. But that’s later in the story. I replaced the tarp and walked up the stairs to the hay loft and found a cozy looking couch and a dusty old telescope. The place looked like it was once well used but had been left to collect dust. It was private and quiet. I could love a little nook like this for solitude. I heard the stairs complain as Edna walked up them. She was wiping her hands off with a rag. She looked around and hrmphed.

“Your grandfather used to spend all his time here. He said he was studying but I think he was spying on his crush. If you open that door and point the telescope down you’ll be able to see your new house. It’s just across the road.”

I couldn’t help myself, and I did just as she said. It was cute white house. It looked like it used to be a farmhouse. It was fairly large. I could see a dog running around in the backyard barking. A man was throwing a ball it and it would chase after it.

“Go into the house and ask Heather for some work clothes. I could use some help on the tractor.”

“I don’t know anything about tractors.”

“You got two eyes, and a brain don’t ya? That means you can learn. Hurry up, want to get her done before the kids get here.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Heather didn’t take long to find me some clothes. We didn’t bother with different pants my jeans were already pretty much ruined with the blood stains but she found one of my apparent grandfather’s old shirts and sent me out to help. I lost track of time as Edna and I laid there under that tractor. She would point out parts and tell me what they did and ask me for tools and patiently help when I had no clue what she was talking about. She knew so much about engines, and she seemed eager to share. By the end of the afternoon I had changed two spark plugs on my own, under her watchful gaze of course. Edna and I both hit our heads on the bottom of the tractor when we heard Heather call out to us. We glanced at each other and laughed. Heather didn’t seem amused at our laughter.

“You two covered in grease and the kids will be here in hour. Hopeless. You wash off before you go dirtying up my white doors.”

She shook her head and walked back to the farmhouse. Edna led me to a sink in another smaller barn and we used shampoo of all things to wash off the grease. While we washed our hands, she looked at me and smiled.

“I’m glad you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty. Most girls your age would take one look at that engine and run the other way.”

“I guess I don’t remember I’m supposed to hate getting dirty.”

Edna laughed and pounded me on the back.

“You’ll fit in just fine around here, Amber. Just fine. Hurry up and get inside and get a shower and changed before Heather puts out in the barn for supper.”

The bathroom was old, but I could immediately tell the difference. It was homey, not like the institutional ones at the hospice. The hot water took a while to kick in. I didn’t wash my hair. I had noticed it would take forever to dry with it so long. Kat had refused to let me cut it shorter. She said I looked good with the longer hair. I put on my nice clothes, at this point it was a white blouse and non-blood-stained jeans. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and made sure I didn’t look like a street urchin. I found myself very nervous for the upcoming family dinner. I was about to meet my new family, I did not know what to expect. My mind drifted back to April and where she was at that moment. There was a knock at the door. I looked at myself one last time and picked up my bag of meager belongings and opened the door. 

“Sorry ma’am.”

Edna looked surprised when I opened the door.

“I was just about to give you a fifteen-minute warning.”

“Sorry I took so long ma’am.”

“You were quick. See you at dinner.”

I walked to the kitchen after putting my bag beside the door. Heather was peeling potatoes. I watched her for a few minutes before speaking she was listening to a radio show and when I heard a commercial come on I interrupted.

“Ma’am, may I help?”

“Of course. Grab a peeler and dive in.”

I found a peeler, I assumed it was one because it was identical to the thing Heather was using and I started trying to peel my first potato. Even I found my pathetic attempts funny until I ended up running the peeler along my finger. Heather gasped and reached for a cloth. But when she went to wrap my finger there was no cut. She threw the peeler in the garbage.

“No wonder you’re having so much trouble, old thing was so dull you couldn’t peel a potato if you tried.”

I shrugged taking that at face value and she pulled out a third peeler and handed it to me. She then showed me how to do it properly and safely and watched me peel my first too. Satisfied she started on her own pile.

“How did the tractor go?”

“It starts now. We were just cleaning the engine off.”

“Good, good. I don’t think I’ve seen Edna smile so much when she was working on it before. I keep telling her to replace it, its older than her.”

“I think it has character.”

Heather laughed.

“You might be a Kent after all. Sounds like something one of them would say.”

“I just mean, just because something is old doesn’t mean you should throw it away.”

“You might not have any memory, but someone taught you right from wrong Amber. I can tell.”

I remembered my mother and all her small wise sayings. She did teach me right from wrong, in her own way. She never lectured me, she lived a good life and I learned from her words to others. My parents were not rich as I’ve already said, and being poor meant they had to just make things work. My father was always fixing something or other in the apartment. I pushed away a couple of tears that had started to fall with my knuckle and continued to peel in silence.

“Okay that’s enough potatoes, now do you now how to cut one properly?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well your peeler episode tells me we need to teach you how to use a knife safely. So here take this potato, put your fingers here, no, not there, here. Now make sure the knife’s sharp edge is never towards your finger. There. Good, now cut again. Great. The secret is control. If you push too hard the potato will slip out and you’ll lose control and then you will cut yourself. Don’t try to force it.”

She walked me through it very patiently I know I was costing her more time then I was saving, and she knew it too, but she just smiled and patiently helped me learn. 

“Good job. We’ll make a cook out of you yet Amber. Could you wash your hands and set the table please?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She shook her head and put the potatoes in the water and turned on the gas to the stove top burner. Setting a table was something I could do. I had helped at Precious Angels once I could walk on my own. April said it was sad how much enjoyment I took in the task. She didn’t understand that to me it was a joy, being able to walk, and use my hands, and just help others instead of being helped. Edna came down the stairs. She was wearing a dress shirt and a clean pair of jeans. Heather looked at her and shook her head. Edna looked down at herself.

“What?”

“Jeans? Really? That’s your idea of dressing up now?”

“They’re my nicest pair. Its not like its Easter.”

“So, I get you in a dress one time a year now? We’re bringing someone new into the family and you can’t even wear a dress? You know how much Emma likes seeing you dressed properly for dinner.”

Edna made her usual hrumph sound and smoothed out her dress shirt. Heather shook her head and went back to mashing the potatoes. She seemed more anxious then I would have expected. I think that’s why I was drawn to Heather. I could read her very easily. It brought a level of comfort I hadn’t had since I woke up from my coma. Edna sat down in a reclining chair in the living room and put on a pair of reading glasses and started scrolling through a tablet. I finished setting the dining room table. Heather had already expanded it and set up chairs. I went back into the kitchen.

“I’m done setting the table ma’am, anything else I can help with?”

“Put some butter in a butter dish, make sure we have salt and pepper on the table and put the pickled beets out.”

The whole request was challenging for me at the time, I had no idea what a butter dish looked like. I turned to her and was very embarrassed to ask.

“I’m sorry ma’am, I don’t know what pickled beets are or what butter is, or what a butter dish looked like.”

Heather had seemed so flustered and anxious I thought for sure she was going to lose patience with me, but she didn’t. She smiled and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. I probably looked like I was going to cry, I felt like I was going to. I just wanted to help and I couldn’t even do simple things.

“It’s okay. Amber. I understand. Come here and just do this with the masher. Just like that.”

I followed her instructions to the letter and she gathered a few things. They were clear, I assume they were crystal. She took over mashing and mixed in some of what she indicated was butter and poured some milk in. While she mashed the potatoes with her right hand she pointed out the various items naming them for me. I put the butter out, and the pickled beets.

“Be careful with the beet juice it stains.”

I nodded and spread my newly completed plates around the table. As I was working the door opened and I saw a woman walk in. She was tall. Statuesque I think a writer would describe her as. I could tell instantly she was related to Edna. She was dressed in a blouse and a grey pencil skirt. Behind her the man I had seen playing with a dog came in. He was wearing a suit, with a red tie. Carrying a girl who had her arms wrapped around his neck. She was wearing the cutest pink dress. Her eyes went wide when she saw me and she squirmed to get down. He put her down and she rushed over and glomped onto my waist. 

“You’re my new sister!”

I nodded and patted her on her head. She couldn’t have been more then four. The woman, who I assumed at the time was Emma looked tired. Heather noticed they had come in. She rushed out of the kitchen to give them both tight hugs. She also scooped up the little girl and kissed her on the cheeks. The girl cried out.

“Grandma I’m getting a new sister!” 

Heather smiled at her and nodded and put her down. She gave Emma a look up and down and put her hands on her hips.

“Really, you show up to a special family dinner like that?”

“I’m sorry mom, I was at the office late.”

“I know where you get it from.”

Heather waved her hand dismissively towards Edna who had put her tablet down and was walking into the kitchen. She scooped up the little girl and gave her a bear hug.

“Look at you. I think you’ve grown an inch since I saw you last.”

The little girl giggled and wrapped her arms around Edna’s neck. The man who I assumed was Henry looked a bit uncomfortable tugged on his collar. He gave me a small smile and wave. I think I scared him somehow.

“You’re getting on my case for being dressed in a skirt and Mom’s wearing jeans?”

Emma rolled her eyes and pulled off her shoes.

“I told you both it was a dress up dinner, your daughter and husband can listen, why can’t you?”

Emma rolled her eyes. And went to pull plates out of a cupboard and as she turned with a few she noticed the table was already set.

“Oh don’t worry about that Emma, Amber got everything taken care of you can go relax I know you had a long day.”

Emma nodded and went into the living room and put her feet up. Henry shooed the little girl into the living room, Edna followed. I stood there where I was beside the table not sure what to do. Heather looked at me and smiled.

“Go ahead sit down and relax dear. I got the rest.”

I nodded. I honestly would have rather helped in the kitchen. I had no idea what to say or do. The people in that room were going to be my new parents, and my new sister. I resigned myself to it and walked in and sat down. The girl was on my lap before I realized what was happening. She looked up at me.

“I’m Sarah. And I know your name is Amber.”

I smiled despite my nervousness. I had come to understand young children made great ice breakers. They don’t care about social awkwardness; They just go to it.

“Hi Sarah.”

“You have pretty hair and eyes.”

“I do?”

“Yes! I have blonde hair too!”

She flicked her curls. I couldn’t help but smile again. The kid was adorable. If only she’d stayed that way, but we all grow up. She crawled off and started digging under the tv and pulled out a box of toys and started playing with them. Henry kept making shy glances at me. I came to understand, he was just as socially awkward as I was. Emma was almost dozing. Edna was reading her tablet again making quiet complaints about the damn republicans. I didn’t have any comprehension of politics at the time so I had no idea what she was complaining about. Feeling completely out of my depth I decided to do the only sane thing I could think of I got on the floor and crossed my legs and played with the toys, Sarah told me all about the little story she was weaving and I listened and played along. Kids I can handle. The door opened again and a six-foot-tall man walked in. He was African American and he was dressed in a very nice suit. He leaned down and hugged and kissed Heather on the forehead.

“Hey mom.”

“Dean. You made it!”

“Yes sorry, I got stuck at a work meeting. I see Emma’s already passed out.”

Sarah had jumped up and ran towards Dean and hugged his leg. He scooped her up and gave her a hug and kissed her forehead.

“Hey Princess.”

“Uncle Dean, my new big sister got here!”

“I can see that, why don’t you introduce me Sarah.”

He put her down and she grabbed his hand and tugged him along with her. I stood up and dusted myself off. Sarah looked up at me and then to Dean.

“Uncle Dean this is my sister Amber, and Amber, this is our Uncle Dean.”

He offered his hand, and I took it shaking it.

“Nice to meet you, sir.”

“What lies did our mothers fill your head with to make you think you need to call me sir?” 

I blushed. I couldn’t help it. I had no idea how to respond so I ended stammering something incoherent out. He laughed.

“I’m teasing you Amber, sorry.”

Heather had taken her apron off and swatted him with it.

“Wash your hands and put the potatoes on the table you big brat.”

“Yes mom.”

He dutifully followed her instructions smiling the whole time.

“That goes for the rest of you, wash up.”

Emma was still dozing and woke with a start when Heather’s apron was thrown at her face. She pulled it off and glared at her mother and went to wash her hands. Sarah demanded I sit beside her, I didn’t argue. Dean led the table in saying grace. The food was so good I barely paid attention to the conversation at the table. I helped Sarah cut her meat. I came to realize she could out talk everyone I had ever met. I didn’t mind though, meant I had to say less. I was more or less left to talk with Sarah as the rest talked about their days and Dean and Heather tried to convince Edna to replace the old tractor. I felt surrounded by love that night. It almost felt like I was back home with my parents. It was a little easier to let go of Kristen and become Amber. Especially with Sarah treating me like I had been her sister forever. 

When it came time to clean up the table I helped again. This time I didn’t even ask. Heather tried to tell me to stop and I shook my head.

“Ma’am, why don’t you go relax, I can do this for you.”

“You really are a blessing to us, you know that.”

“No more then you are to me. Ma’am.”

She smiled at me. I could tell I was already accepted by her as part of the family. I felt that way about everyone there that night. I was part of the family and that was that. No more was said about it after that first day. I felt guilty that a lie had brought us together. I had no idea how I could possibly be related to Clark Kent. But DNA doesn’t lie. When I finished cleaning off the table and putting the food away I leaned on a wooden pillar by the living room. They were involved in a deep discussion on whether the town cinema should be re-opened. Emma and Dean thought it was a stupid idea, since Metropolis was only half an hour drive away. Their mothers were in complete opposition. Sarah was playing away and all I could think was, how lucky I was to have been found by them. Eventually Sarah started tugging on her father’s hand.

“Daddy, I’m bored!”

He rubbed her head and glanced at Emma who didn’t look like she was ready to leave anytime soon. I walked up to Sarah and offered my hand.

“Sarah, I know about a secret room where we can look at the stars from. Wanna come?”

I looked at Henry and he nodded. Sarah started to bounce and I led her to the barn and up into the loft. I pushed open the doors and dusted off the telescope and pointed it at the moon. I moved an old wooden box over and helped her up on top of it so she could look.

“Wow there’s holes on it!”

“Those are craters. Asteroids smashed into it and made them.”

I made exploding sounds and she was super excited. She got bored with the moon and we looked at a few stars and together we discovered one of them was Jupiter. The telescope was a very strong one. I hadn’t expected it to work so well. She got tired of that and started bouncing on the old dusty couch. While I looked for another planet. It was only a few minutes before I heard the sounds of soft, rhythmic breathing. I glanced over and Sarah was passed out. I gave her another half an hour and scooped her up she wrapped her arms around my neck and she whispered.

“I love you Amber.”

With those words I knew I had found home. I had to fight back tears. I knew it was just the mutterings of a young kid, but she had me wrapped around her little fingers. I carried her into the house and was met by a bunch of smiles. Heather showed me to the spare room and I laid Sarah down on the bed and sat there for a few minutes before going back down stairs. They were all drinking tea and Heather offered to make me a cup, which I accepted. I sat down on the couch beside Heather. She leaned in and spoke to me quietly.

“She must really like you, she never goes to sleep for her baby sitters.”

“I think she was just tired from all the excitement.”

Heather smiled and nodded. Emma finished her conversation with Dean and looked at me.

“Amber, I have to apologize. Henry didn’t finish setting up your room yet. He promises he’ll get it done for tomorrow night, do you mind staying here?”

“No ma’am.”

“You don’t have to call me ma’am. We’re all family here. Call me Emma.”

I nodded. Heather finished her cup of tea. And looked at the stairs.

“You know Sarah’s dead asleep, why don’t you just let her stay here tonight. If she’s too much to handle while you and Henry get the house ready, Amber can run her around.”

I nodded. Emma looked at Henry who shrugged.

“Guess it is settled then. Might be nice to have a quiet night alone.”

“My thoughts exactly, you and Henry haven’t had much time to yourselves with your new job and Sarah.”

“Thanks mom.”

“Always hon.”

I noticed that Enda was nowhere to be found. I assumed she went to bed so she could get an early start. I did not know much about farms, but I knew farmers had to be up early. I helped Heather load the rest of the dishes into the washer and made my way to bed. I slept better that night then I had in a long time.


	5. Part 5: Memorial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber visits the Superman memorial for the first time and has an unexpected reaction.

The next day at the Kent farm was much like the one before except Sarah was running around. Heather kept her out of Edna’s hair for the most part. I woke up early and helped Enda get the tractor ready for planting. Helped load the seeds and helped her hook up the seeder. She was planting corn in the north field and wheat in the east field. Edna, like Heather was very patient with all my questions and the fact it took a little longer to set up with me there didn’t seem to bother her. I was an eager student. Once she was seeding, I went back into the house an washed my hands. Heather was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt today. She had Sarah dressed similarly.

“She finally finished with you, come on, we’re going to Metropolis. You need some clothes.”

I stammered something out about not needing anything more than I had. My protests were in vein and I found myself in Heather’s blue pick-up truck. Unlike Edna’s truck the seat belts worked, and it was almost silent. Sarah fell asleep in her child seat shortly after we left the farm.

“You really don’t need to get me anything ma’am.”

“Yes, I do. I don’t know what kind of story Edna spun for you, but we aren’t just poor farmers. I used to work be an executive vice president at Luthorcorp. She’s always going on about how we need to save our money for a rainy day. What’s it for if not to spoil our grandkids? And stop calling me Ma’am, it’s making me feel my age. Aunt Heather will do. Or if you prefer Grandma.”

“I’ll go with Grandma if that’s alright, I think I’d confuse Sarah otherwise.”

“Good idea. We can’t have you walking around Smallville looking like we dove into a donation bin. No offense to the folks that need to do that, but we have standards to Keep Edna used to be the Sheriff.”

“She did?”

“Yes, you don’t think she’s farmed her whole life, did you?”

“Well I…sort of did.”

“We had people take care of the farm for us when we were young and busy. Now Edna does it to keep herself busy. And I enjoy cooking for her and taking care of the house. But I do like going shopping sometimes. We’ll get you some school clothes, a tablet, a computer, and a phone. And then we’ll go find you a couple of nice dresses for special occasions. A proper young woman needs to have a dress for every occasion. Maybe we can get that hair looked at, it looked like you cut it yourself in the mirror.”

I could feel my cheeks burning again.

“Its fine Amber, we do what we need to when things are tight. But you’re part of a family now, not an orphan. Edna would let you shave it off and wear plaid to school and jeans. She’s always been a bit of a tom boy. I’m not saying it’s not attractive, but you don’t seem like that type of girl. Are you?”

“Well, I am not sure. I think I’d love to have a dress. And I really don’t want to shave my head. I mean, I suppose I might look good in a dress.”

“Oh, Amber, you’re already gorgeous. What did they tell you at orphanage?”

“Well Kat used to say I was beautiful. I didn’t quite believe her. I don’t know what beautiful really means.”

“Wow, that is a long conversation to have. Where do we start?”

“First off, beauty starts on the inside. If you’re a good person it shows. I already know you’re a good person. Sarah has this sixth senses about folks and she took to you like white on rice.”

I nodded.

“But then there is your outside. Your hair, make-up, the right bra.”

I shifted in my seat.

“It’s okay to talk about this stuff Amber. You’re a growing girl. Your body is changing. Its all natural. So is being uncomfortable in your own skin. Trust me. I know all about that. I tried marrying a man, did not work out for me at all, so did Edna. Once we came to understand ourselves, we met each other and well here we are.”

I nodded.

“I’m not trying to call you out. I just want you to feel pretty for your first day of school. Monday is coming up fast. And every kid seems to have a mobile phone, and a tablet these days. Even Sarah has a tablet. I don’t really agree with all that, but I am old and stuck in my ways. And Sarah needs a new dress that ugly pink thing was her dad’s idea. The man has no idea how to dress up a little girl. God bless him.”

I nodded, she fell into silence and watched the road and I looked out the window, watching freshly tilled fields turn into industrial complexes and then into city houses. Heather parked the truck in a multi-level parking lot and she nudged Sarah awake. Sarah groggily rubbed her eyes and I helped her out of her seat and scooped her up and held her while she woke up. Heather led us towards a store. I could tell it was expensive just by the look of the front of it. She opened the door for me and when we got inside an older woman greeted us with a smile. 

“Mrs. Thomas, How can we help you today?”

“I was hoping to get my granddaughters a couple of dresses, if you have time.”

“We always have time for you Mrs. Thomas.”

What followed was an experience I would never forget or get used to. Now when I go to this store, I get the same greeting but I still am weirded out by how far the bend over backwards to service their clientele. I must have tried on fifteen different dresses. Sarah picked her two out within the first fifteen minutes. Between her, Heather and the woman who I came to learn as named Marie, I had a non-stop parade of dresses to try on. I had no idea what I liked at the time, I still don’t but I knew I liked black and silver. So, I ended up finding a plain but flattering black dress and a red blue one in the same style. Sarah demanded I get something fancier, Heather agreed, and I found myself in a black gown with silver high lights. I had no idea how much it all cost, none of it had price tags, and Heather didn’t seem to care. We dropped our bags off at the truck and we went to another store, a much less expensive store, and far more my style. Heather made sure I could make several outfits that would apparently be the envy of all the girls at school. We dropped those bags off in the back of the double cab truck and then Heather said she was taking us out for lunch and then shoe shopping. I felt a need to ask to do one other thing, and I am not sure why I felt drawn to it, but I was, maybe it was the conversation with Kat, maybe it was the fact his emblem was on my favorite shirt. 

“Grandma, could we visit the Superman Memorial?”

“Sure, its nearby, why don’t we go do that before lunch.”

Sarah was bouncing. She was a fan. Sarah got tired of walking as we made our way to the memorial. I scooped her up and carried her. She felt like she barely weighed anything. It was about a fifteen-minute walk and Sarah was happily hugging me the whole way. Heather kept glancing at me. Eventually when we were about three minutes away, she stopped and looked at me directly.

“You don’t have to carry her the whole way, hon, she can walk, you must be exhausted.”

I shook my head and shrugged.

“She weighs almost nothing. I barely notice.”

“Okay.”

She turned and continued walking. The memorial was huge. A twenty foot tall marble statue stood with one arm extended above it’s head. I could see the symbol from my t-shirt on his chest. It was a single piece of silver bound to the marble. There was a semi-circle and dais around the statue with a low set of stairs leading up to a plaque:

_Dedicated to the Superman._

_He was the best of us._

_Died defending the Earth, October 16, 1982._

_We will never see another one like him._

_Built and Maintained with funding from Luthorcorp._

Fresh flowers lay at the statue’s feet and on the plaque. The park was well maintained and busy that day. Towering office buildings surrounded the park. They were in what I came to realize was Art Deco style. Each was unique but all were similar. When I researched what happened the fight had devastated ten square blocks of Metropolis thousands had died. Luthorcorp had funded the park, the statue and the buildings, then donated them all to the city. I had an overwhelming sense of calm under the statue’s watchful gaze. I could tell why people revered the place. I made my way around and looked up at his face. I’m wasn’t sure how true to life it was, but I could start to make out similar features that I saw in my own face. The nose was particularly obvious. He looked a heck of a lot like my genetic grandfather Clark Kent. I touched my own nose and glanced at Heather and Sarah. Sarah was reading her way through the memorial plaque. Content I had a few more minutes I stared up at his face again. I couldn’t shake the feeling I had seen him before. Which was ridiculous I hadn’t seen anyone before six months ago. 

I made my way to where his sealed stone sarcophagus lay at the far end of the memorial up another set of stairs. I approached it and I was overcome but a wave of weakness my legs gave out completely and I collapsed there my hands twitched and I could see my veins pulsing. I struggled to breath. It was like I was back in my old body, completely powerless. I tried to cry out for help but my mouth and lungs wouldn’t respond. I could hear people calling out. I struggled and managed to pull myself away from the sarcophagus. I could feel my strength returning. By this time, I was surrounded by concerned people. Heather appeared above me Sarah was hugging her leg and tears were rolling down her cheeks. I struggled to sit up. My breath started coming easier. I didn’t know it but I had just had my first encounter with Kryptonite. I would come to know the sensation well. Several people had their phones out and were starting to dial. Heather told me to just stay on the ground and relax, they were calling an ambulance. I shook my head, my breathing had become regular enough I could talk.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just got short of breath, that’s all. Please don’t waste their time.”

Heather looked skeptical but it seemed like I’d convinced the crowd I was alright they started putting their phones away. I sat there for a few more minutes before getting up. The crowd slowly dispersed, and Heather was dusting my hoodie off.

“You shouldn’t have carried her that far. You’re still recovering from the explosion.”

“I’m fine, I was fine until I go too close to that.”

I pointed at the sarcophagus.

“You’re talking nonsense.”

I wanted to get close to it again, like a moth to the flame to test my hypothesis. I started approaching it again and reached out my hand I could see the black veins start to appear in the parts closets to the sarcophagus and I could feel the weakness setting in, I jumped back quickly. I didn’t want to feel like that again. It took me back to my old life. Heather looked at my hand and then at me. I could tell she was trying to figure out how to ask a question.

“I don’t know Grandma, I don’t know. I just know if I go near that it feels like every bit of strength in me is sapped and I’m trying to breath in water.”

“Just take some deep breaths, I’ll see about calling us a taxi to get us back to the truck.”

“No, I’m really okay. Maybe…can we go for lunch now, I just want to forget about that feeling.”

I shuddered.

“Are you sure dear? We can head home if you’re not feeling up to it.”

“NO, no, I don’t want to ruin our day because I had some weird episode. Come on Sarah.”

I scooped Sarah up again and she wrapped her arms around me. She squeezed so hard I thought she was going to break me. She leaned her head on my shoulder.

“I was worried about you Amber. Please don’t do that again.”

“I’ll try not to sis.”

Sarah’s eyes brightened when I called her sis. She squeezed me even more tightly.

“I love you Amber.”

Those words again. My heart melted even further. Heather smiled at us and we went to a nearby restaurant and by the end of the meal the episode at the park was forgotten. The rest of the day was uneventful, I had my first professional haircut and Sarah got her hair trimmed and styled. We finished our shopping. Heather seemed to love every minute of it, she took great joy in spoiling us, I did my best to not take advantage of her generosity, always going for the least expensive gadget. She would then ask for the most expensive, latest fastest model. For someone who said she doesn’t approve of children using tablets, she sure knew a lot about electronics. After an early supper we headed home. Sarah fell asleep again. Heather waited until Sarah was completely passed out and then she gave me a side long glance.

“We’re making you an appointment with a doctor first thing Monday morning. I have one in Metropolis. I don’t trust that that hospice did their due diligence with your health. You were in a coma for six months. There might be more wrong then they realized, and it is not like they are well funded.”

“I’m alright, doctors are expensive. I really don’t need one. I’ve been feeling great ever since we got away from that Sarcophagus.”

“Nonsense. You don’t play games with your health.”

I shrugged, it seemed like an argument I couldn’t win. I really was feeling better every day, especially better today. I wasn’t even close to tired and we’d walked all day and most of it I was carrying Sarah.

“We’ll just say it’s a checkup before school okay. I don’t want to worry Emma, or Edna. Knowing Emma she’ll want to sue someone.”

“Okay Grandma.”

Heather smiled again. It seemed she liked that I had started calling her that. It felt odd coming out of my mouth, but it was getting to feel more normal. She drove me to my new house and helped with the bags. I carried Sarah inside and put her to bed. It was after seven by the time we got home, and Sarah was out for the night. Emma and Henry had been working all day apparently and I had a room fit for a teenage girl. Pinker than I would have chosen, but I had a home, and my own room.

Emma and Henry were sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea and talking quietly. They didn’t stop when I showed up. They finished their talk, they were discussing childcare for the next week, apparently Henry had to go to some publisher meeting. I sat down at the table with them. 

“Sarah and I can go to grandma’s house. After school, can’t we?”

Emma smiled and rubbed her eyes.

“I don’t want to give them too much to worry about.”

“I don’t think they’ll mind. Especially if I’m there to keep her distracted. That way you know she’s safe, I don’t think I’m quite ready to take care of her on my own.”

Emma nodded, Henry had gotten up for the table and started putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I took a few minutes to form my words, it felt awkward asking my next question.

“I, I don’t want to press, but what should I call you, I don’t want to confuse Sarah.”

“What do you want to call us?”

“Can we do mom and dad? Sarah will be happy with that I think and its easy.”

Emma looked up at Henry who did not meet her gaze or mine. He shrugged and nodded.

“Okay, mom and dad will do. I see mom took you shopping today. Did she leave anything on the shelves?”

I laughed.

“Yes. I tried to not shop so much but she just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Mom’s like that. She worked hard her whole life and she loves to spend her money on people she loves.”

I nodded. Henry finished the dishes and quietly walked upstairs. Emma looked after him.

“Look I know this is all strange to you Amber, but you’re safe here. And Henry will start to get better around you. He is just not good with people, he’s shy. It’s not you, he just doesn’t understand people like you and I do. He is really a good man when you get to know him though. Just give him time.”

“I understand, I feel like that all the time. I’m not good at reading people’s body language.”

“Hmm, you might be autistic as well then. If so, we can get you help. You can learn to understand with practice. It is exhausting though. Henry gave up his job because he just did not have the energy to deal with people all day and then come home and be a husband and father. He’s been much better. We are here for you. Whatever you need. You’re family. Looking at picture of Uncle Clark and then looking at you it’s obvious.”

“I…well Grandma Edna doesn’t look anything like me, and I don’t look anything like you. I just I don’t understand.”

Emma pondered for a few moments, then she laughed softly.

“Oh dear. My mom was adopted and so was Uncle Clark. Martha and Jonathan couldn’t have children. So, they adopted.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I never got to meet Uncle Clark he vanished before I was born. My grandparents never got over it, but they never put any effort into searching for him either. We assumed he died in the Metropolis attack that killed Superman. He worked at the Daily Planet and it was one of the buildings that was destroyed. They had so many unidentifiable remains. They’ve started doing DNA testing to try and get them to their loved ones. That’s how we found you. You matched his DNA in the database. I wish you could remember your parents so we could maybe find out more.”

She waved the thought away dismissively.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re with your family now and not stuck in some foster home.”

“Thank you…Mom.”

Emma smiled and she reached out and rubbed my hand gently.

“You’re welcome daughter.”

I could feel tears started to form in my eyes and I quickly wiped them away. Emma squeezed my other hand gently.

“You have been through a lot. It’s okay to cry.”

“You’re just all so welcoming and you barely know me.”

“All we need to know is that you’re family. That’s enough for us. My grandparents drummed that into is. Doesn’t matter where you came from, once you’re together you’re a family. Look at Dean and I. We were seven when our mothers came out and got married. It was not smooth at first let me tell you. But now he’s my brother and Heather is my mother, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now you’re here and it won’t be all sunshine and rainbows, but you’re my daughter and I’m your mother and one day we won’t want to have it any other way.”

Tears were dripping down my cheeks freely by then she came around and hugged me tightly. I didn’t deserve so much love. Not after the lies and what I had done to my family. I wanted to come out and tell her everything, but the words would not form, they caught in my throat. So, I just sobbed.


	6. Part 6: Friends: New and Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber meets a new friend, finds an old friend and finds an enemy.

I bolted awake with a scream. I remembered burning up from the inside out. And hearing the screams around me. But when I looked around my darkened room it was just as pink as it had been the night before. The moon was low and full and cast a bright glow across my new desk. I heard footsteps rushing down the hall and was temporarily blinded when my light flicked on. Emma, my new mom was rushing towards me wrapping her arms around me. I had tears on my face, and I could feel sweat dripping down my neck. She hugged me tight, Henry looked around the room and nodded towards us then walked off. I could hear him going down the stairs. The whole time he was gone Emma hugged me tightly.

“Don’t see anyone.”

I found my voice eventually.

“I’m sorry, it was a nightmare, I was on fire. Or in a fire. I’m okay, I really sorry for scaring you.”

“Shh. Its okay. You’ve been through something very traumatic and you’re in a strange room, its bound to be scary for the first little while.”

Emma continued to hug me tightly. She rocked me for a few more minutes. After I calmed down, she turned the light off and went to their room. I lay there staring at the ceiling in the dark a long time. I was trying my best to put it behind me, but a new name and a new family wouldn’t wipe the fiery memories away. 

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember was the sun streaming through my windows through the branches and budding leaves of an old oak tree. I don’t ever remember the sun feeling so good as it did since I woke up in Precious Angels. It energized me in a way I still can’t describe. I went to the so-called kids bathroom and had shower. I brushed my teeth and went back to my room and got dressed. I went with my old worn black and silver superman t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I know it looked like it was two sizes too big but it was my good luck shirt at this point and first day at a new school with six weeks left to go I would need it all. I had already been told I would be guaranteed a passing grade, but I still had to show up and go through the motions. I looked at myself in the mirror. I frowned I could see the shirt starting to hang off my chest which would not stop growing. I was going to look out of place in a grade seven class I was sure. My hair looked good. I had to admit, I looked good. I didn’t deserve to, this wasn’t my body. It was something I stole. It didn’t belong to me. I sighed and went down to the kitchen. 

Emma was long gone, and Henry was putting cereal out for Sarah. He gave me his usual shy look and put a bowl out a glass down in front of me and silently offered me orange juice. I smiled and nodded. He poured me a glass and I ate my cereal Sarah had her tablet leaned up against an old wooden napkin holder. She was watching a video intently and slurping up her milk and cereal. Henry cleared his throat, and I could tell he was trying to form words. 

“The bus will be here in ten minutes. You should get going Amber.”

I nodded and rushed my way through the rest of my food and grabbed my school bag and ran to the stop. I managed to beat the bus by five minutes. It stopped and I got on. It was very noisy. The other kids were talking over each other. It was a mix of junior high and grade school kids. It got quiet when I stepped on the bus and all eyes were on me. It was quite embarrassing, but I guess with a small town new kids were rare. There were only two empty seats. One was beside a very large kid, he lifted his bag up and put it on his lap. He wasn’t fat but he was just built like a tank. The other was beside a blonde girl who put her bag down beside her. It made the choice obvious. I sat down beside the boy. He had been reading a book. Already putting him above the rest of the rowdy kids on the bus in my eyes. He looked at down at his closed book and bag and seemed like I was making him uncomfortable. I had enough awkward weirdness and silences over the last few months, so I just blurted out.

“Hi, I’m Amber.”

He glanced at me out of the side of his eyes and a smile crept onto his lips.

“I’m Jacob.”

“Hi Jacob, nice to meet you, thanks for moving your bag so I could sit down.”

“No problem. So…uh did you just move here?”

“Yes, I was adopted by the Morris family.”

“Adopted?”

“Yes, my family died in an accident and they are relatives.”

“I know them, your mom is Edna Kent’s daughter.”

“Yes, she is.”

“The Kents are good people you’re lucky.”

I smiled at him

“I am very lucky.”

“Kind of mean of them making you start school with only six weeks to go. They could have waited until next year.”

I shrugged.

“Grandma Edna was adamant I get to school as soon as possible, can’t have young girls running all over here and there.”

He laughed.

“Well she was the sheriff for twenty-five years.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed it, she looks like she’s been farming her whole life. And she sure knows her way around and engine.”

“Everyone around here has been farming for their whole lives. Well except for me, rich dad means I don’t get to enjoy farm chores.”

“Why are you on the bus then?”

He cleared his throat and made his voice deep.

“You won’t be spoiled under this roof son, you’re going to go to public school and take the bus like everyone else.”

It was my turn to laugh. He had a light in his eyes.

“Who’s the girl up front who glared at me and put her bag down on the seat?”

“Oh, that’s Amanda. She’s just mad her best friend is off for a week and she’s stuck sitting alone because no one wants to deal with her.”

“So, she’s mean?”

“She’s bullied most people on this bus, but without her friend she’s kind of an outcast. Don’t let her get to you.”

“I won’t its kind of hard to make my life worse, orphan, new school, new family.”

He nodded. I looked at his book. It was the same series April loved so much.

“I know that book, my best friend loves that book.”

“Oh ya, well I just started reading it. It’s funny. My dad decided to foster a girl our age. She’s not starting school until next year. Apparently he funded a surgery for her. Your new grandmother mentioned she was going to be stuck at a group home. Dad isn’t much of a softy, he usually just funds surgeries for tax right offs but for some reason he called up the state and demanded he be allowed to foster her. He’s a big contributor to the Republican party so he pretty much gets what he wants.”

My eyes went wide. It was too many coincidences. Tears started to well up.

“Is her name April?”

“Yes, how’d you know? What’s wrong? Did I say something to upset you?”

I shook my head wiping away the tears from my cheeks.

“No, no, that’s my best friend I thought I’d never see her again. I asked if the family could take her in too but Edna said that they can’t take any stray they find off the street. She never told me she was going to help April.”

“Oh wow, I don’t think I ever appreciated the Sheriff for how awesome she was.”

I continued to wipe away my tears. I was going to look awful now for the first day of school. But It didn’t matter. April was here.

“You should come by after school.”

“Could I?”

“Of course, Dad’s off on some business trip to Gothem. Left us alone with Karen.”

“Who is Karen?”

“She is part nanny and part tutor. All mean.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry about it. She can go stuff it, if April is your best friend you should see her as soon as possible. She asked if I’d seen any new kids around town. It makes so much sense now.”

“Thank you, Jacob. Thank you so much.”

“Any time Amber.”

He was smiling and the more we talked the more comfortable he seemed around me. He looked at my shirt.

“I noticed your shirt, it’s awesome. Where’d you get it?”

“Someone donated it the long-term care facility I woke up in.”

“Superman…oh man, superman was so awesome. I’ve been to that memorial so many times. Watched the videos.”

“I visited first time on Saturday.”

“Wasn’t it great?”

I shuddered at the memory of what happened when I got close to his remains and pushed the memory away.

“Ya..ya it was great.”

He started talking about Superman this, Superman that. I lost track of most of his gushing as we drove past the high school and I took in the sites of all the older teens. I couldn’t help thinking that if not for the accident I would never have gotten to be one of them. And I was suddenly very excited for the prospect of going to school and being just a normal kid. Not special ed, or disabled, just a normal junior high student. The bus rolled to a stop and I felt Jacob nudge me gently. I nodded and picked my back up and got up. He waved to me as he went off to his classes and I went towards the office.

I sat down and waited for the chaos to subside as teachers and students rushed to class and then went to the desk a woman was typing at a computer and looked up at me over the top of her reading glasses.

“I’m Amber Morris, I was told to come to the office when I arrived.”

The woman nodded and pushed her reading glasses up and started looking over a printed list. She nodded again.

“Welcome to Smallville Public School, the Principle likes to speak to all new students personally. Just have a seat and she’ll be right with you.”

I sat back down and hugged my school bag. I could feel my thighs rubbing together as my feet bounced slightly. Apparently now that I had legs I was one of those people. I calmed myself and my legs stopped moving. After about ten minutes an older woman came out. She was your average school teacher.

“You must be Amber. Join me in my office.”

I followed her to her office and she pointed to a chair then sat down.

“I like to talk to all our new junior high students before they join classes.”

She adjusted her glasses and read over the screen in front of her.

“I see here that you did two standardized tests at your last care placement. The first test you failed, with a three percent and on your second test, five months later, your math and reading skills were at a high school level.”

She looked back at me and looked me up and down.

“I understand you have had a rough year. I see you have recovered nicely from your injuries. I also understand due to your amnesia and lack of records we have nothing to determine where you are at scholastically except those two tests. What they tell me is that you are ambitious and determined. You increased from being at a kindergarten level, to a grade nine reading level in five months. I also see from your records you were doing rehab, building muscle mass and learning to walk again, and that you were walking on your own in three months. If you keep up that drive and ambition at this school and in life you are going to succeed fantastically. Welcome to Smallville Junior High.”

She smiled and led me to the office proper, then down the halls to a locker. Which I put my belongings in and pulled out a notebook. She led me to a door and knocked on it a man who looked to be in his twenties answered the door, he was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt. Pretty standard fair for the men of Smallville.

“Mr. Baker. This is Amber Morris, she is just transferring into the school.”

He smiled.

“Welcome Amber, come in. Grab any free desk.”

I nodded and walked in. I saw a few open desks one was beside Amanda, who quickly put her backpack in the chair. I rolled my eyes at her antics a seat beside Jacob was open. That seemed like the best choice. Unfortunately, it was also at the front of the class. A place I wasn’t exactly comfortable with. At least I knew him. I slid into the seat beside him and he smiled at me. I smiled back.

“We’re reading Great Expectations. Just read along with someone.”

I glanced at Jacob, he gave a have shrug and nodded and I scooted my chair closer. I had heard of Charles Dickens, only through listening to A Christmas Carol. It was an interesting morning, and afternoon. I came to determine my favorite class was gym. Of course, it was, for thirteen years I couldn’t even walk, now I could run. It was great right up until Amanda tripped me when I was doing a lap, by accident of course. Honestly, its been years and I still have no idea why she hated me so much. Oh well.

At the end of the day I didn’t take the bus, I went to the daycare and picked up Sarah. It was a very heartwarming experience. I waited with her and eventually Heather appeared in her pick up truck and we climbed in. Heather was full of questions. She noticed the bruise on my hand and split in my elbow.

“How was your first day of school?”

I shrugged.

“It was good, I found out my friend April is living with a family here, Jacob Filoni’s family? I was wondering could I get a ride to see her after dad gets home?”

Heather frowned at the mention of the name.

“Well, that’s not a family you want to hang around with Amber.”

“Why?”

“Lets just say, Jacob’s father isn’t a nice man.”

“What do you mean? He paid for April’s spinal surgery and he took her in.”

“Probably because Edna twisted his arm. I just don’t think it’s a good idea you hanging around with them.”

“Please? April is my best friend in the whole world.”

“Okay, you just be careful.”

“I will be.”

She pointed her chin towards my injuries.

“What happened there?”

“I tripped when I was running, I’m still getting used to working legs.”

She gave me a skeptical look.

“Its fine, I’m just clumsy.”

“You are a terrible liar Amber. I’ve seen you running over from Emma’s house, you aren’t clumsy.”

“A girl tripped me.”

“Why ever for?”

“I don’t know, she seems to hate me, I have no idea why.”

“What’s her name?”

“Amanda.”

Heather laughed. I gave her a questioning look.

“Her father is the pastor over at the Smallville Baptist church. They used to protest at sheriff’s office because Edna and I are gay. Little brat.”

“So she disagrees with your relationship and is bullying me because of it?”

“That about sums it up. I’m sorry Amber.”

I shrugged.

“Her loss. I know you said Jacob’s family is..I don’t know. Anyway, he was the first person to talk to me and treated me like a normal person instead of an alien.”

“Jacob is a good kid, it is his father that is the problem.”

We pulled into the Kent farm and she parked the truck. As were getting out I leaned down to Sarah.

“Want to play hide and seek in the barn?”

“Yay!”

We must have run in circles for an hour. Edna eventually called me over to help her with something and I sent Sarah inside to Heather. Edna was trying to change a tire on the seeder. Apparently it had gotten punctured. She was having trouble with one of the nuts. She asked me to help. I almost laughed at her. There was no way I was stronger than her, but maybe she was just sore so I gave it a try. The nut popped free after I put my back into it.

“Wow I was sure that wasn’t going to work.”

“Thanks Amber. My back is killing me today.”

“No problem Grandma. Anything else?”

“Yes go grab the spare from the vehicle shed.”

I nodded and rolled it out for her. 

“Okay lift it up and put it on the bolts there. Good. Now put the nuts on.”

I followed her instructions and then she showed me how to lower the jack so we could tighten the nuts, which I did for her as well.

“I knew you’d earn your keep around here. Thanks.”

She wiped her hands off with a rag and offered me a clean one from her back pocket and I wiped the dirt and grime off my own hands. She was looking at the ground and then back at me. I wasn’t great at reading people but I could tell she wanted to talk about something. I waited patiently like they did with me when I was struggling.

“Look, I heard about Amanda Cobb today. Its not right that you’re getting flack for Heather and I. I’m sorry.”

“Grandma, its not your fault, its hers for being so narrow minded. I’m tough, I can take it.”

She smiled at me and patted me on the back.

“You are smart kid. And you have a good heart.”

“Of course I do, I’m a Kent.”

Her smile widened and I swore she was about to give me a bear hug, but she didn’t she just patted me on the back again.

“You remind me a lot of Clark.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and felt the sweat from my efforts on the tire for the seeder. I looked up at her and then back down at the ground. I wanted to ask her about Clark. I swear he could be Superman’s twin. But I shrugged it off.

“Something up?”

“No. Its just silly me seeing things.”

“I thought I was the senile old woman here.”

I laughed.

“Tomorrow after school I could use some help in the east grazing field. Someone hit one of the fence post when they ran off the road, need to get the fence up so the cattle don’t get out. Can you do that?”

“Of course. Always happy to help.”

“Thanks, just come over when you get off the bus. I promise I’ll get you home in time for what passes for supper when Henry cooks.”

I smiled. Remembering the cereal this morning.

“Speak of the devil.”

Edna waved to Henry as he drove up the driveway. I saw him stop the car, and watched him get out of it, he was lanky. He waved back then went inside.

“Looks like he’s here to get you.”

“Umm actually Grandma Heather is giving me a ride over to Jacob’s house. I forgot to thank you.. you know, for helping April.”

Edna started to blush. 

“Found out about that did you?”

“Jacob and I talked a lot at school today.”

“I really had no standing to take her in, but I knew Mr. Faloni could do it. He owes me a few favors.”

“Heather was saying he wasn’t a good man.”

Edna wiped her forehead with a rag and then put it in her back pocket. She looked pained.

“Mr. Faloni, he’s a businessman. He’s a bit ruthless about it. But he’s a man of his word. If Jacob likes you, you’ll be on his good side. Besides he knows your my kin. That will put you on his good side on it’s own. Heather, well she thinks I associate with him too much.”

I nodded.

“Just keep your ears, eyes and hands to yourself at that house and you’ll be fine.”

“Don’t eavesdrop on his business dealing and you’ll be fine.”

I nodded again. I saw Henry coming out with Sarah and Heather was walking towards her truck with her purse. I smiled at Edna and gave her a wave and went to the truck. We drove a bit further out from Smallville about fifteen minutes. Jacob lived halfway between Metropolis and Smallville. She pulled into the driveway. I smiled at her and thanked her for the ride. She grabbed my arm as I was about to get out of the truck.

“Remember what I said, watch yourself around the Filonis.”

“I promise. Thanks again for the ride.”

“Is your phone charged? Call me for a ride when you are ready to go home.”

“Yes Grandma.”

I nodded to her. She didn’t release my arm and was looking at my elbow.

“Didn’t you have a cut there when you got off school?”

I looked down, I was pretty sure I had, there was blood at when I fell. But now there was no sign of injury and the bruise was gone.

“It was probably just really red.”

Heather released my arm. She looked a bit bothered but after I got out she smiled and waved at me and drove her car around the circle at the front of the house. It wasn’t really house it was more of a mansion. I saw several cars parked outside. All what I knew now to be very expensive vehicles. Along with a black sedan with tinted windows in the back. I looked back to the front door and ran the bell. A man in a dark suit with a black tie answered the door.

“Yes?”

“I’m Amber, Jacob invited me over.”

“Of course.”

He turned towards the interior of the house, and spoke loudly.

“Master Jacob, you have a guest.”

Jacob was wearing a white undershirt and a pair of jogging pants he was covered in sweat. He had a towel hung over his neck. He smiled as soon as he saw me.

“Come in Amber. Come in. Did you eat yet?”

“No, I came right over from my Grandmother’s place.”

“You should stay for supper. We’re ordering pizza.”

“Really? I’ve never had pizza.”

“Seriously? Then you gotta stay. Come on, April’s this way. I didn’t tell her you were coming, wanted to surprise her.”

I smiled and hurried after him. I could barely contain my excitement. He knocked on a door.

“Hey April, can I come in?”

“I guess.”

He nudged me to open the door. Which I did. April was sprawled on her bed looking like she’d been crying all day. I couldn’t help it I had to do it.

“Are your eyes always that red?”

It took her a few minutes for my voice to register and then she was on top of me hugging me.

“Oh my god, it’s really you!”

She looked at Jacob and frowned.

“I thought you said you didn’t know anyone named Amber.”

Jacob laughed.

“When you asked, I honestly didn’t. We met on the school bus today.”

I hate to admit it, but I was a just as much an emotional mess as April. I was so happy to see her.

“Well I’m going to go finish my work out. Pizza will be here in fifteen. If you don’t show up I’m eating it all.”

He left the room and closed the door behind him. April and I looked at each other for a few minutes just soaking in the fact we were together again the same room.

“I can’t believe you’re here. When Jacob said I was the only new girl in Smallville I thought maybe you weren’t here.”

She sat on her bed and I plopped down beside her.

“Today was my first day of school and I spent most of the rest of my time on my Grandma’s farm, or in Metropolis shopping.”

“You got to go shopping?”

“Yes. One of my grandmother’s took me.”

“I didn’t, I just showed up and there was a whole walk in closet full of clothes my size. None of which is anything I’d be caught dead in. I mean there’s pink! My new tutor/nanny/assistant went shopping for me. I really shouldn’t complain. Its just, not my own style. But I mean, who has a walk in closet?”

“I sure don’t.”

“Tell me everything. What are you new parents like? Do they have any kids? What is the farm like?”

“Henry and Emma are great. Emma is a lawyer, Henry is a writer. He is super shy. Its been four days and he has said exactly four words to me, and only because I didn’t know what time the school bus showed up. Emma is great. And Sarah, oh Sarah. She’s four. She’s already told me she loves me. She’s so adorable. Um the farm is great. Grandma Heather is the best cook. And Grandma Edna is well, so far she’s taught me how to change oil in a tractor, change a tire. Milk cows, load a seeder. Tomorrow I get to help fix a fence!”

“Jacob told me the old Sheriff Edna, had told his dad about me. I barely said two words to Mr. Faloni. He’s pretty busy. Always wearing suits. I get the feeling he felt obligated to take me in because of Edna. I can’t say he doesn’t like me. Look at this room. Its like I’m a princess.”

“It’s huge. I live at this old farm house. My room isn’t big, but Henry and Emma they redid the whole thing for me. I have bed, a desk. There is this old oak tree outside my window. I named it Frank. Of course my room is also pink. I have to be honest I think they just used the leftover paint from Sarah’s room. But that’s alright. My room is cozy and warm.”

“Sounds nice. I think this one is a bit big, it has a fireplace for the love of god.”

I hopped up and toured her room inspecting the nooks and crannies. I heard the doorbell ring.

“Sounds like the Pizza’s here.”

“I have never had pizza, so I’m super excited.”

“Never?”

“Well I can’t say never, I don’t remember if I did or not.”

“You’ll love it come on!”

April grabbed my arm and dragged me out of her room and down to a massive dining room. Jacob was no where to be seen there were three pizza laid out and three spots set. I truly had never had pizza before. My parents never ate out or frozen food, there just wasn’t enough money. April opened the three boxes and looked, she went for one she called Hawaiian pizza. I wasn’t so sure about that one, there was one with all sorts of meat on it. I took a slice of that one and put it on my plate. I watched April eat hers and mimicked her. It was so good. I had finished a second slice before a freshly showered Jacob sat down. He looked at the Hawaiian pizza and shook his head.

“I don’t sweet and pizza going together, it just seems wrong.”

“You shouldn’t be biasing Amber away from the best kind of pizza ever. She hasn’t had it before.”

I looked between them and shrugged and took a piece of the Hawaiian. I ate the whole slice, but I didn’t love it. Jacob had been right the sweetness of the pineapple did not work for me.

“I don’t think I’d want that again.”

April sighed and frowned

“I don’t think we can be friends anymore if you don’t like Hawaiian pizza.”

Then she laughed and took another slice.

I went back to the meat pizza. Jacob was splitting his time between that and the vegetarian pizza which I was in no way interested in. We talked forever I don’t remember feeling so comfortable with other kids my age. Eventually we were interrupted by my long-forgotten cell phone ringing. I pulled it out of my bag and put it to my ear.

“Amber, its ten pm, you should have been home an hour ago.”

“I’m sorry mom. I lost track of time.”

“Mom said she dropped you off at Jacob Filoni’s house, are you still there?”

“Yes, sorry, I should have called, I’m so sorry.”

“It is alright. I’ll come and get you.”

Jacob made a waving motion.

“I can get you a ride home.”

“Mom, Jacob said he could get me a ride home.”

“Okay, but you leave right away.”

“Yes Mom.”

I hung up the phone and put it back in my bag. I looked at Jacob and April.

“Sorry.”

“Hey, its okay sorry I didn’t notice the time. We’ll get you home.”

Jacob vanished into the house and a few minutes later came back.

“Eric is getting the car started, he’ll get you home safe.”

“Thanks Jacob.”

“No problem. See at school tomorrow.”

I nodded and went out the front where the man who opened the door waited by the black sedan I had seen earlier. He opened the back door for me and closed it behind him wordlessly. He drove me back to my house and before he could get out and let me out I picked up my bag and got out.

“Thanks Sir.”

“You’re welcome Ma’am.”

I closed the door and took a deep breath and went into the house. Emma and Henry were waiting though I got the suspicion Henry wanted to be anywhere but here. Emma started.

“Amber, you can’t do this again, we were worried sick about you. You didn’t answer any of our texts. You could have had another episode like you had in Metropolis. And we had no idea where you were.”

I blushed when she mentioned Metropolis. Heather had said not to saying. I couldn’t meet her eyes after that. Emma pulled off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose and put them back on.

“Didn’t think we knew about that did you?”

“Grandma Heather said not to say anything. I’m fine, it was just an allergic reaction or something.”

“Allergic reaction? That is an understatement. You couldn’t breathe. And mom should have told me herself instead of me trying to translate a four-year old’s description of it. Which was horrifying by the way.”

She paused and her eyes soften as she looked down at me.

“You aren’t alone anymore Amber. You have a family now, and families worry about each other. If you go out again, which won’t be for at least a week after tonight, you need to have your phone available and out and text us at least once an hour. Now it’s past your bedtime so get yourself upstairs and get some sleep. Mom is taking you to the Doctor’s tomorrow morning, I’ve already called the school and left a message.”

She leaned forward and hugged me and kissed the top of my head.

“Good night mom.”

“Good night Amber.”


	7. Part 7: Falling Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber and her new family try to figure out why she got sick at the Superman Memorial.

The drive to Metropolis was quiet. Heather seemed deep in thought and to be honest I was still half asleep. For some reason I found myself needing a lot of sleep lately. The radio was full of news of a bank robbery in Gotham that had used some form of poison gas to kill several police officers. I didn’t like the news much, it was never good. Since the…event. There seemed to have been a steep increase in crime. I had heard the news when I was younger but I didn’t really pay attention. Now that I was more a part of the world I did pay attention. I was still a child basically so I couldn’t truly say I understood all that went on, but there was the metahuman issue that seemed to get a lot of press. This was just another example of one of them going rogue. The government had been going on about finding a way to deal with them, lock them up, contain them, license them just for being different. Of course, there were protests. The government couldn’t just demand they register themselves, that is like a precursor to a big brother state. I wasn’t sure at the time what big brother state meant. I was only thirteen. After the third time the news show basically repeated the same report with different words by a different person Heather reached out and pressed a button changing the station. Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain started playing. I couldn’t help but move to the music. It had been one of the few things I could enjoy before the explosion. My mother, my biological mother that is, would play all different kinds for me. She was a big fan of music and still had a collection of old records from her parents. I closed my eyes and listened. It is amazing where music can take you if you let it.

I felt the truck slow down and turn. Heather was pulling into a parking spot a non-descript looking building that looked like it was made from blue tinged mirrors. She turned the truck off and looked at me.

“You look tired. Not getting enough sleep?”

“I guess not.”

“Let’s go inside.”

I picked up my school bag and hefted it over my shoulder. It was heavier then yesterday. We went inside and rode the elevator in silence. The doctor’s office was clinical, that’s the best word for it, of course it was clinical it was a doctor’s office. Heather went to the front desk and spoke to the receptionist who seemed to know her well and I was waved inside.

“You want me to come with you Amber?”

I wasn’t really sure what to expect so I nodded. Heather put her arm behind the small of my back and nudged me along. I had been a bit frozen there at the threshold of the examination room. I sat down on the bed. I remembered the crinkle of the paper well. Heather sat down in a chair and pulled out her phone and started looking through something. I waited there tapping my feet on the little stool arms hugging my school bag. If had been smart I would have been catching up on Great Expectations but I wouldn’t have been able to focus on it. I was tapping my fingers on the sides of my bag when the door opened. A woman, probably in her fifties walked in. She was obviously of East Indian descent. She smiled at Heather who had put away her phone. 

“Heather, its nice to see you, is the diet going well?”

“Yes, great.”

My disbelief at Heather’s response must have been obvious. 

“Hmm something tells me you’ve been cheating.”

“It was a special occasion. We had a new addition to our family.”

Heather motioned to me. Young me didn’t recognize how fluidly she redirected the conversation away from herself. I would see her masterful ability to control the flow of social interactions over the years. It was obvious why she was such a good business executive if one paid attention. The doctor looked at me.

“Well if I’m going to examine you, you’re going to need to put the bag away.”

I blushed and leaned down offering it to Heather who took it.

“Do you want Heather here with you for the examination?”

I nodded.

“Okay, I’m Dr. Balsimi. I understand from Heather’s call you collapsed a few days ago and had a seizure and couldn’t breathe.”

I nodded again.

“Has this ever happened before?”

I shook my head, then I stopped. I couldn’t exactly tell her I used to be wheelchair bound with barely functional lungs with Heather here, but I couldn’t ask Heather to leave after asking her to stay. My ability to predict the outcome of my actions was seriously underdeveloped at the time.

“I can’t remember anything from before six months ago.”

“Okay, lets start at the beginning. I don’t really have any medical history for you. We’ll do some tests, get your height and weight and then we’ll sit down and discuss what you do know okay?”

I nodded. Anyone who’s been through a full physical knows exactly what I went through for the next forty-five minutes. When we finished the Doctor brought us into her office and opened her laptop.

“Okay, we still need to send you from for some more tests. Hearing, eyesite, MRI, CT Scan, Allergen test and we’ll need a full blood work up. I was able to get your records from Precious Angels. They tell me the same thing the tests we have run so far tell me, you are a healthy twelve year old girl. Your heart is very healthy. Your lungs are great, no sign of Asthma. No signs of any nerve damage in the extremities. Your BMI is perfect. For someone who woke up from a coma six months ago you are doing amazing. Maybe the other tests will tell us more. I was able to get you scheduled for everything but the MRI for today with some of our partners. The MRI and CT Scan are on Saturday at Metropolis General. Then we’ll make a follow up appointment here next week and we go over the results.”

The remainder of my day was taken up by driving all over Metropolis getting poked and prodded. To be honest it gave me flash backs of my childhood. None of it was painful as I recall. Heather patiently waited with me at every single appointment and even took me for lunch again. I could tell she was still concerned even after Dr. Balsimi had said so far, I look healthy. I had a few texts from April and Jacob asking if I was okay. I had replied when I noticed, which was about an hour after I received them. I wasn’t good at keeping track of my phone at the time.

When we got back to the farm Edna was getting some posts and fencing loaded on to the back of her hold truck. She looked to be just start. As soon as Heather parked I rushed out to help her my school bag forgotten. I was surprised at how light the fence posts seemed. Edna had struggled getting the first one on the truck but to me it felt like I was lifting my school bag. I figured maybe she was just tired from working all day, or maybe just getting old enough she wasn’t as strong as she used to be. Heather had my school bag hanging off her arm at her elbow and she watched me work for a few minutes then she walked over.

“Edna don’t you overwork her. She could be sick.”

“I’m fine Grandma Heather, these are light.”

I was holding the roll of fencing in my fingers and then I hoisted onto the back of the truck. I hadn’t looked at the listed weight on the bundle but if I had I probably would have fainted it was a full fifty lbs. I then scooped up the bag of cement and dropped it in the back of the truck. That one noticed as the truck’s back leaf springs creaked under the weight and the tires inched closer to the wheel wells. Edna and Heather looked at each other for a few minutes but then Heather shook her head and went into the house. I got in the truck with Edna and she drove out to the place where a car had run off the road and taken out the fence. We had to replace three posts and run the fencing between them. I remembered to text Emma just before we started telling her I was helping Grandma Edna replace some fencing and wasn’t sure when I could send another. 

Proud of myself I helped unload the truck. Between us we dug out the old posts and I threw them beside the truck while Edna continued to dig. It was a quiet three hours as we went through the motions. The old posts had been stuck deep then cemented. It was a pain to get them out put between digging and me yanking we managed to get them out and replaced just as dusk was settling in. I loaded the old posts on the back of the truck and the garbage. Edna dusted her hands off and put her hands on her hips as she looked at our work.

“Good job, thanks, don’t think I could have got it done without you. Back isn’t want it used to be.”

I nodded and got in the truck. She drove me back to the farm and I unloaded the truck for her. After stopping in the house for a couple of hugs I was ran through the west field to my house. I got there just in time for Emma to be putting supper out. She looked me up and down when I came in.

“You look like you were rolling in the mud.”

I smiled and nodded.

“Wash up and get some food while it’s hot.”

I nodded and ran upstairs and washed my hands and face and pulled on a t-shirt and some jogging pants. Henry, Emma and Sarah were all sitting at the table by the time I returned. They were halfway done their meals and I sat down quickly and started dishing food out to myself. I was starving after all the hard work in the field. Emma looked up from her food.

“So how did the appointment go today?”

“Doctor said I seem healthy. I had to do a bunch of tests and have to do two more on Saturday.”

“So, she didn’t find anything?”

“I guess not. She said my BMI was perfect, my lungs and heart were strong. My hearing test came back with me being able to hear in a higher and lower range then most people, my eye test was at twenty-ten. The doctor seemed surprised but said my vision was great and didn’t see any signs of damage. I’m not allergic to anything they tested me for.”

“Its good that you’re healthy but you obviously have something going on or you wouldn’t have collapsed. I was hoping it was found easily and we could get it taken care of.”

I nodded.

“I understand, but I feel great. I mean I’m tired, replacing fence posts is way more work then I assumed it was.”

“Mom shouldn’t be working you so hard.”

“It’s okay, she needs the help. She couldn’t believe I could lift a bag of cement myself.”

“You need to be careful; We still don’t know what is wrong with you.”

I sighed and nodded.

“Mom could have hired someone to do it for her.”

“But I can help.”

“I know you want to help, but you have to watch out for your health at the same time.”

I nodded and let the table fall into silence as I ate my food. Which while not as good as Heather’s cooking was a lot better than the hospital food at Precious Angels. After we cleaned up the dishes I went upstairs and went to bed almost immediately. I woke up just before five-thirty in the morning with no alarm. I turned it off. I felt refreshed for the first time in a while. I looked at the bathroom then pulled out some yoga pants, a jogging shirt and my hoodie. I could hear someone in the kitchen and rushed down to try and catch Emma before she left for work. She looked a bit bleary eyed while she sat there drinking her coffee. She noticed me at the bottom of the stairs.

“You’re up early.”

“I know I just woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep I was wondering if it was okay if I went for a bit of a run. I just feel like I need to get rid of some energy or something.”

Emma glanced at her Fitnow bracelet and outside at the sun that was rising.

“As long as you’re careful. Don’t run on the road and do not let anyone pick you up.”

“Of course, Mom.”

“Don’t forget your keys Henry won’t be up for an hour at least. And if you feel the slightest tightness in your lungs you call 911 immediately.”

I nodded and slipped my phone into my hoodie pocket and put my blue tooth earphones and closed the door behind me. I started to jog at a slow pace. Like I used to do on the treadmill at Precious Angels but I found myself wanting to try to go faster. I wasn’t getting tired at this pace. I kept trying to faster and my breathing wasn’t getting any worse. By the time I realized how fast I was actually going I was in Smallville proper. I was panting and trying to take deep breathes. I looked at my own Fitnow bracelet it was showing my heart rate as 70 bpm. I assumed I must have lost track of time and panicked a bit I tapped it and it showed ten to six. I looked back at where I’d come from. It should have taken way longer than ten minutes to run this far. I looked up at the school sign it was reading sixty Fahrenheit and 5:53 am. I heard a honk. And looked up and one of the Sheriff’s deputies’ cruisers was pulling up alongside the curb. There were a couple of female deputies in the car. The one on the passenger side which was closest to me rolled down her window. She must have seen me trying to catch my breath. I pulled my earbuds out and stretched my back. For the first time since I was first learning to walk again, I was actually feeling the need to stretch.

“Everything alright there?”

“Yes ma’am, I’m fine, just catching my breath was doing a sprint.”

She nodded and looked me up and down.

“You’re the girl Emma and Henry Morris adopted, aren’t you?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Little young to be as far as Smallville jogging, alone aren’t you?”

“I actually didn’t mean to make it as far as Smallville to be honest ma’am. I lost track of the time and where I was.”

The deputy looked me up and down and looked at her fellow deputy.

“You need to pay more attention when you’re out running especially on the country roads, lot of idiots from out of town on them.”

“Thank you for the warning, ma’am. I’m going to start heading home. Need to get ready for school.”

She motioned back towards the country road I’d been running on.

“Well better get going then.”

I nodded and put my earbuds in the cruiser drove off and I was left alone again. I started jogging back to the house again. This time I paid closer attention to what I was doing and my speed. I realized I would easily be able to match a car at this speed and reached home by 6:10 am. I was out of breath again and took a few minutes to let it catch up. I unlocked the door to the house. Emma was already gone. I hadn’t known running for fun was so good. I pulled my ear buds out and poured myself a glass of water. I took a few big gulps then drained the glass. I had no basis for how fast other people were at the time. Part of me thought how fast I could run was strange, but surely Olympians could do it. I was sweating from my run and decided a good long shower wouldn’t hurt. 

The day went about the same as my first day of school. Henry was just as quiet as usual, though this time he didn’t say anything to me, mostly because I left for the bus with plenty of time for it to arrive. After school I went to the Kent farm and Enda put me to work reorganizing the tool shed. She looked like she wanted to say something for almost the whole time I was there but didn’t seem to know how to say it. She eventually took a deep breath. Then she closed her mouth again and shook her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing kiddo. Nothing. I twisted a tilling blade in the south field today. I was hoping you could help me dig whatever rock I ran into tomorrow.”

“Whatever you need Grandma.”

“Thanks, you should run home, get cleaned up for supper and do your homework.”

I nodded and I jogged home. I had a quiet night reading Great Expectations. Not exactly my favorite book ever. I wished I could go see April, but I was grounded after the late night on Monday. I gave up on Great Expectations and closed it. I scooped up my tablet and tried to ping April but no response. I was bored at this point. A rare occurrence for me so for a lark I checked for the world records for runners. I nearly fell off my bed when I saw forty-one minutes for fifteen kilometers which was about the distance to Metropolis when I used a converter. I blinked and doublechecked the other sources. They all confirmed forty-one minutes. I was four times faster than the world’s fastest runner. I started to have a mini-panic attack. Did this mean I was a metahuman? I was freaking out. I couldn’t do it again, if someone found out. All the stuff going around. What would Emma think?

I put the tablet in my nightstand drawer. As if that would hide the fact, I was a metahuman. I couldn’t get comfortable that night. I tossed and turned. I did not sleep well at all. I woke up just after 5:30 am again. I turned off my phone’s alarm and got dressed for jogging. Emma was drinking a coffee in the kitchen again. She smiled at me and waved, I nodded and waved back putting my ear buds in and I went for a jog. I kept it under the speed limit this time. The same cruiser passed me as yesterday and I waved to them as they passed and the deputy in the passenger seat waved back. I finished my jog at the Kent Farm. It was only a forty-five-minute run. I was barely feeling the run. Edna was already outside feeding the horses. She jumped when she saw me. I pulled my Earbuds out and waved.

“You need any help before I go get ready for school?”

“You scared me half to death Amber. What are you doing out at this time of day?”

“I went for a run. Decided to stop by and see if I could help out with anything.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t for Heather’s cooking?”

“No, I would never… Actually, is she up?”

Edna laughed.

“Yes, go on inside I’m sure she’ll make you something other than cereal.”

I gave her a wave and went inside. Heather was drinking a coffee and reading a newspaper which she looked up from when I came in.

“What are you doing up at this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep, Edna said you might have some breakfast left over…”

Heather pushed her glasses up her nose.

“She did, did she?”

I nodded.

“Well there are no leftovers, but you can help me make more.”

We exchanged smiles and she showed me how to make bacon and over easy eggs. I screwed up the first two which she said she’d use for something else. I couldn’t get over how patient she was with my inability to do simple things. Eventually I had a steaming plate of food in front of me and a glass of milk. I ate quietly and Heather went back to reading her paper. When I finished I cleaned up the dishes and wiped down the counters and stove like she had taught me. I was quite proud that I remembered everything.

“Thank-you!”

“You’re welcome, you better hurry or you’re going to be late for your bus.”

I nodded and waved. I pulled my hoodie on and ran back to my house. Henry was barely waking up when I got out of the shower. He looked surprised to see me awake early again. I had already put out the bowls, glasses and cereal for breakfast. Well except one for me. He nodded to me then started to make a cup of coffee in one of those instant coffee machines. I went upstairs and sat on Sarah’s bed and started tickling her hand then her nose. She swatted my hand away but eventually woke up.

“Morning sleepy head!”

She giggled when I tickled her foot next.

“Time to get dressed sis. Mom put out your clothes. Do you need any help?”

She stretched and hopped out of bed.

“Can you help me with a braid?”

I blinked. I opened my mouth a few times to say something, I didn’t want to disappoint her, but I had no idea how to braid hair.

“I’m sorry Sarah, I don’t know how.”

She hugged me tightly.

“It’s okay sis. Maybe tomorrow?”

I nodded. She went into our bathroom and I heard her brushing her teeth when she came out, she was mostly dressed but her shirt was on inside out. I smiled and pointed to it.

“You have your shirt on inside out, sis.”

She giggled and fixed it. I went into the bathroom with her and helped her brush her long hair out, gently of course. We decided on her kitten clips and put them in. I helped her get her cereal and juice ready. Henry looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself so promptly got busy doing nothing while trying to look busy in the kitchen. I felt a little bad, I guess he enjoyed his mornings with Sarah. So, I spoke up.

“Dad, do you know how to do a braid, Sarah wanted one badly today, but I don’t know how to do it.”

It took him a moment to realize he was being spoken too. When he realized what I had asked he nodded and came over. He pulled the clips out of her hair and started making the braid. He was quick about it; He described the steps for me in his quiet voice. Sarah was kicking her feet when he finished, she looked up at him with those adorable irresistible eyes of hers.

“Daddy, do Amber’s hair now!”

He looked at her like she’d just asked him to go shark diving without a cage. He opened his mouth a few times I wasn’t sure how to save him from his predicament, so I sat down beside Sarah and pulled my ponytail out for him and offered him my hair tie. He braided my hair to match Sarah who seemed extremely pleased with herself. When he finished I stood up.

“Thanks dad.”

He nodded to me and started reaching for the plates. I touched his hand softly.

“You hang out with Sarah, I’ll take care of the dishes. I have a few minutes before I have to go out to the bus.”

I busied myself cleaning off the table while Sarah begged him into a game of patty cakes. And then thumb wrestling. Her giggles of joy filled up the open concept main floor. I finished cleaning up after breakfast and pulled on my hoodie and grabbed my school bag.

“Have a good day everyone!”

With that I closed the door and went to the end of our driveway and waited for the school bus, ready for another boring day at school. At least Jacob would be there. By the time the school day was over I was ready to get outside and help Edna. Jacob laughed at me when I told him the highlight of my days was helping Edna around the farm. I couldn’t explain why to him without telling him my real story, but just being able to do physical work was a pleasure for me. I went through the south gate and into the fields. I found Edna quickly she already had her tractor out there with the shovels. She smiled to me and nodded. 

“How was your day?”

“You know.”

She laughed. And handed me a shovel.

“I think it’s down here.”

She’d already started digging I got close and could feel my breathing suffering and before I knew what was happening, I was gasping for breath and I was collapsed into the hole. Edna dragged me away from the hole and I started to feel better almost immediately. She rushed to the hole and dug into the dirt in a panic. She pulled out a chunk of green crystal.

“Get out of here, go to the house hurry.”

I didn’t think about it at that point I clawed into the dirt and scrambled to my feet and ran to the house. I blinked and I was collapsed against the yellow siding of the old farmhouse holding my stomach. As I tried to catch my breath. Heather rushed out of the door and looked down at me she checked my Fitnow bracelet. 

“Amber can you hear me? What happened?”

I pointed to the field and Heather rushed out towards where Edna was waiting. By the time they got back I was sitting on the stairs. I was feeling much better and had caught my breath. Heather looked calmer and Edna had the chunk of green rock in her hand I instinctively backed away from the stairs and towards the house. Edna went into the garage with it and came out without it. Heather came over and put her hand on my shoulder.

“Are you feeling better?”

I nodded.

“It was the green rock that made you sick. Edna is putting it somewhere safe for the time being and we’re calling the government to come and collect it. Probably best to stay out of barn until they do.”

I nodded again.

“Let’s get you cleaned up before Emma sees you.”

I followed her into the house and washed my hands and face. I put on an old pair of Emma’s clothes they had from when she was a kid. I looked like I belonged in a 90’s music video, but it was better than the mud-covered clothes I had been wearing. Heather had already put them in the laundry.

“I’m glad we know for sure now. If that is all it is, we’ll have good news on Monday.”

She smiled to me and put a few cookies out on a plate with some milk. Heather liked to treat every situation with food it seemed, the future proved this to be true. I was feeling much better by the time I finished the cookies and milk. Strange how that cookies and milk thing works. Maybe it’s the chocolate chips, or the sugar, or just the quiet time. When I finished, I found Heather, she was outside collecting eggs. She motioned for me to help.

“Feeling better?”

I nodded.

“Could I come over for another cooking lesson before school tomorrow? I really want to be able to help more and I just don’t know how to do anything.”

“Of course, Amber.”

“But we shouldn’t waste food, if I mess it up, I’ll just eat it and we can try again tomorrow. I mean just because they aren’t perfect doesn’t mean it’s going to taste awful.”

“Okay. It’s a deal.”

I smiled at her and we continued to collect eggs. I didn’t realize it at the time but all this manual work, the cooking lessons, the schoolwork, anything, to stop thinking about Kristen and what had been lost, what my new, mostly perfect life had cost. Given the choice I would have willingly traded my life for the lives of everyone who was lost.

The weekend came and went. The last two tests were uncomfortable. I am slightly claustrophobic. When the time came for the appointment on Tuesday with Doctor Balissi I found myself nervously dangling my feet and kicking forward and backwards. I wondered if the old me would have done this if she’d had the ability to move her legs. The doctor came in, she was smiling she greeted Heather and then looked at me.

“Well I’ve looked over the tests. Everything came back clean. You are healthy. You have no allergies, your blood tests showed perfect levels of everything we’d expect to see, except your hormone levels. I saw some irregularities with your brain scan, and I consulted with a neurologist and we suspect we know why you can’t remember anything before waking up. You did have some form of damage to your brain. But your body has rewired around it and even started repairing the damage, which is strange, usually brain injuries are typically permanent, but it is not unique. Sometimes children have recovered full cognitive functions. You are a healthy twelve-year-old girl. Your hormone levels are more in line with a girl of nine or ten, however they have increased since the last test so it seems like something had stunted puberty for you in the past but now its catching up. Developmentally by the time you turn fourteen you should be caught up. This may delay the onset of menstruation but not my much. You’re doing great as far as I can tell. Which while good news, is also bad news because we still do not know what caused your episode.”

Heather spoke up at this point and showed a picture of the rock.

“She had a similar reaction when she was helping in the field and dug up one of these. They are a meteor rock that was determined to be radioactive. Smallville used to be covered in the stuff but the government declared it a Smallville and the surrounding area a superfund site about fifteen years ago and have cleaned up most of it. There may have been some of that in the park or near where she collapsed. The reaction was identical.”

The doctor lifted her tablet and tapped several times. Her eyes scanning texts.

“Well it’s not unprecedented that certain minerals can cause negative reactions. The fact it is radioactive is concerning. I would be worried about radiation poisoning, but her white blood cell count is great. She has no signs of radiation poisoning. Let’s monitor the situation. In the meantime for the second half of the appointment, and I am sorry Amber, this is going to make you feel terrible for a few days, but its time for all your vaccinations since we have no records we need to make sure you’re up to date.”

I nodded. Needles didn’t bother me. I sat through several injections at that point. Heather took me out for lunch again, mostly I think she just wanted ice cream. We chatted about this and that and then she dropped me off at school.


End file.
